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GIFT  OF 

SEELEY  W.  MUDD 

and 

GEORGE  1.  COCHRAN     MEYER  ELSASSER 

DR.  JOHN  R.  HAYNES    WILLIAM  L.  HONNOLD 

JAMES  R.  MARTIN         MRS.  JOSEPH  F.  SARTOR! 

to  the 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

SOUTHERN  BRANCH 


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This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below 


JUN  1 8  1934 


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SOME    RECORDS 


OF    THE 


DYER  FAMILY 


Compiled  bt 

COENELIA    C.  JOY-DYER 


"Rememherthedaysofold,  consider  the  years  of  many  generations  : 
ask  thy  father,  and  he  will  shew  thee  ;  thy  elders,  and  they  loill  tell 
thee. — Deuteronomy  xxxii.  7. 

"  /  have  considered  the  days  of  old,  the  years  of  ancient  times.'" — 
Psalm  Ixxvii.  5. 


PRINTED  FOR  PRIVATE  CIRCULATION 


NEW  YORK 
THOMAS    WHITTAKER 

2  AND  3  Bible  House 

1884 


855S3 


t   r       c    t    <■? 


Qt 


<:i 


i 


J  To  THE 


REV.  Heman  Dyer,  D.D. 

This   History   of   his  Ancestors 

IS  affectionately  inscribed 

BY  his  Wife 


PREFACE. 


The  following  pages  have  not  been  hastily  written, 
but  are  the  result  of  much  patient,  and  thoughtful  re- 
search.    Great  care  has  been  taken  that  no  statement 
^,     should  be  made,  without  ample  proof  of  its  correctness. 
0^     Numerous  books,  and  musty  records,  have  been  consult- 
ed,  and  the  most  persevering,  and  untiring  efforts  made, 
^     to  reach  the  truth.     If  mistakes  can  be  found,  it  is  be- 
^^     lieved  that  they  are  but  slight  ones.  It  may  be  thought 
^'      that  some  matters  have  been  introduced,  which  are 
foreign  to  the  subject;  but  in  each  instance,  there  has 
been  a  motive  for  doing  so.     There  has  been  no  at- 
tempt to  trace  the  lineage  of  the  various  branches  of 
the  Dyer  family.     The  object  of  the  writer  was  to  find 
the  link  between  the  noble-hearted  martyr,  Mary  Dyre 
— her    brave    husband — and    that    branch    of    their 
descendants    for  which  she  has  a  particular  regard. 
It  is  believed  that  much  of  interest  will  be  found,  in  the 
book,  to  any  bearing  the  name,  and  certainly  all  are 


6  PREFACE. 

justified  in  feeling  both  pride  and  pleasure,  who  can 
trace  their  lineage  back  to  that  remarkable  band  of 
Exiles,  who  left  their  native  land  for  conscience'  sake, 
came  to  this  wilderness,  and,  after  years  of  trial,  toil, 
and  embarrassment,  most  cheerfully  and  nobly  borne, 
laid  the  foundation  for  the  rich  inheritance  we  now  en- 
joy.    Such  an  ancestry  is  indeed  a  "  precious  heritage." 

"  Yet,  remember!  'tis  a  crown 
That  can  hardly  be  thine  own, 
Till  thou  win  it  by  some  deed 
That  with  glory  fresh  shall  feed 
Their  renown!" 

Cornelia  C.  Joy-Dyer. 

New  Yokk,  March,  1884. 


-> 


SOME  RECORDS  OF  THE  DYER  FAMILY. 


Fifteen  years  after  the  Pilgrims  of  the  Mayflower 
had  landed  on  Plymouth  Rock,  we  find  the  first  record 
of  William  and  Mary  Dyre,  in  Boston.  A  family 
tradition  says  that  two  brothers  and  a  sister — Edward, 
George,  and  Tabitha  Dyre — came  from  England  to 
Boston  in  the  Mayflower,  about  1627  or  1629.  With 
them,  were  the  son  of  one  brother  and  the  daughter  of 
the  other — William  and  Mary.  The  cousins  married; 
when^  it  is  not  known.  As  it  has  been  impossible  to 
ascertain  any  other  maiden  name  for  Mary  Dyre,  the 
inference  is  that  the  tradition  may  be  a  correct  one. 
Gerard  Croese  in  his  "History  of  the  Quakers," 
quaintly  describes  her  as  "  a  person  of  no  mean  extract 
or  parentage,  of  an  estate  pretty  plentiful,  of  a  comely 
stature  and  countenance,  of  a  piercing  knowledge  in 
many  things,  of  a  wonderful  sweet  and  pleasant  dis- 
course." Governor  John  Winthrop,  in  his  Journal 
dated  1638,  speaks  of  her  as  "  a  very  promp,  and  fair 
woman,  of  a  very  proud  spirit."  "  Thus,"  says  Drake 
in  his  "  New  England  Legends,"  "  we  have,  in  her. 


8  SOME    RECORDS   OF   THE    DYER    FAMILY. 

the  portrait  of  a  comely  woman  of  fine  presence,  high 
spirit,  a  fair  share  of  education,  and  possessing,  more- 
over, a  soul  endowed  with  the  purpose  of  an  evangelist, 
or,  at  need,  a  martyr."  The  Dyre  family,  like  many 
others  in  that  day,  had  left  the  refinements  of  an 
English  home,  and  braved  the  discomforts  of  the  western 
wilderness,  in  order  to  enjoy  the  blessings  of  religious 
liberty.  William  and  Mary  Dyre  united  with  the 
church  of  which  the  Rev.  Mr.  Wilson,  (afterwards  so 
malignant  in  his  persecution  of  the  Quakers)  was  the 
pastor,  and  on  the  20th  of  December,  1635,  their  son 
Samuel  was  baptized.  The  following  March,  William 
Dyre  was  made  freeman.  As  this  act  gave  him  the 
elective  franchise,  and  was  not  bestowed  without  a  cer- 
tain amount  of  property,  it  is  probable  that  he  was  a 
man  of  some  means,  when  this  privilege  was  conferred 
upon  him.  The  name  Dyre  has,  like  many  names  in 
this  country,  been  spelled  in  various  ways  by  different 
branches  of  the  family.  We  find  it  thus  written — 
Dier,  Dhier,  Dyor,  Dyar,  Dyre  and  Dyer, — the  last 
being  the  spelling  by  which  the  name  is  now  known, 
both  in  England  and  America.  William,  of  Boston, 
wrote  his  name  Dyre,  as  his  ancestors  had  done  for 
many  years,  and  thus  it  continued  for  several  genera- 
tions in  this  country.  In  Anglo-Saxon  the  adjective 
dyre  means  "  strong — bold."  In  the  days  of  Chaucer, 
dyre  meant  "  dear,"  and  he  says : 

"  Farewelle,  dyre  herte,  chef  yn  remembraunce, 
And  ever  schalle  unto  the  oure  y  dy." 

It  is  not  known  how  much  the  ancestors  of  William 


SOME    RECORDS    OF    THE    DYER    FAMILY.  9 

Dyre  were  governed  by  these  considerations  in  spelling 
their  names,  but  the  Anglo-Saxon  meaning  probably 
had  its  influence.  About  the  time  that  the  Dvre 
family  came  among  the  Puritans  of  New  England, 
Roger  Williams,  originally  from  Wales,  and  a  graduate 
of  Pembroke  College,  Cambridge,  then  a  young  man 
of  thirty-two  years  of  age,  had  made  his  appearance, 
and  taken  a  decided  stand  against  many  of  the  views  of 
the  founders  of  Massachusetts,  who  came  to  secure 
freedom  for  the  exercise  of  their  own  religious  opinions, 
but  were  zealous  in  putting  down  all  those  who  differed 
from  them.  He  believed  in  religious  freedom,  not 
only  for  his  own  opinions,  but  for  those  of  all  others. 
He  thought  that  the  law  ought  to  be  used  to  keep 
people  from  crime,  but  that  it  had  nothing  to  do  with 
their  religious  belief.  He  did  not  approve  of  obliging 
people  to  attend  church,  unless  they  wished  to  do  it. 
He  did  not  think  it  right  to  choose  the  magistrates 
from  the  church  members  only,  or  to  make  people  pay 
to  support  the  cliurch  unless  they  wished.  There  were 
many  who  shared  these  views,  but  had  not  the  courage 
to  avow  them,  knowing  it  might  bring  them  into 
serious  difficulties.  Petitions,  however,  were  gotten  up, 
protesting  against  these  requirements,  and  agents  were 
sent  about  to  get  signers.  They  soon  got  into  trouble, 
and  one  incident  will  show  how  bitter  was  the  feeling 
against  them.  My  ancestor,  Thomas  Joy,  in  an  unwary 
moment,  was  persuaded  to  carry  a  petition  for  signa- 
tures. John  Winthrop,  Esq.,  first  Governor  of  the 
colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  makes  this  record  in  his 


10  SOME    RECORDS    OF   THE    DYER   FAMILY. 

Journal :  "  There  was,  also,  one  Thomas  Joy,  a  young 
fellow,  whom  they  had  employed  to  get  hands  for  the 
petition.  He  began  to  be  very  busy,  but  was  laid  hold 
on  and  kept  in  irons  about  four  or  five  days,  and  then 
he  humbled  himself,  confessed  what  he  knew,  and 
blamed  himself  for  meddling  in  matters  belonging  not 
to  him,  and  blessed  God  for  these  irons  upon  his  legs, 
hoping  they  would  do  him  good.,  while  he  lived !  So  he 
was  let  out  upon  reasonable  bail." 

A  novel  way  of  taking  iron  as  a  tonic ! 

Roger  Williams  talked  so  boldly  against  the  es- 
tablished laws,  that  the  Massachusetts  magistrates  de- 
cided to  send  him  back  to  England.  He  heard  of  this 
intention  and  fled,  in  mid  winter,  from  his  home  in 
Salem,  and  wandered  in  the  wilderness  for  fourteen 
weeks,  "sorely  tost  in  a  bitter  season,"  he  says,  "not 
knowing  what  bread  or  bed  did  mean." 

This  was  in  January,  1636.  It  has  been  shrewdly 
said  that,  "  when  the  Pilgrims  landed  on  Plymouth 
Rock  they  fell  upon  their  knees,  and  shortly  after,  fell 
upon  the  aborigines."  Roger  Williams,  however, 
pursued  a  different  course.  He  sought  the  friendship 
of  the  Indians,  and  by  kindness  and  attention,  making 
them  presents,  and  visiting  them,  as  his  letters  de- 
scribe, "  in  their  filthy,  smoky  holes,  to  gain  their 
tongue,"  he  overcame  the  shyness  of  old  Canonicus, 
and  won  the  esteem  of  the  high-spirited  Miantinomo. 
It  proved  well  for  himself,  and  for  New  England, 
that  this  intercourse  was  maintained.  He  crossed  the 
Narragansett  Bay,  with  five  companions,  in  an  Indian 


SOME    RECORDS   OF   THE    DYER    FAMILY.  11 

canoe,  and  the  first  place  where  he  landed,  he  called 
Providence,  thus  acknowledghig  his  gratitude  to  God. 
There  were   no  white   settlers   in    that   region ;    and 
Canonicus   and  Miantinomo  were   sachems   over  the 
Narrasan setts,  and  resided  on  the  island  of  Canonicut 
in  the  Narragansett  Bay.     It  was  from  them  that  Mr. 
Williams  obtained  his  first  deed  of   the  lands  about 
Providence.     This  deed  bears  date  March  24,  1637, 
and  it  mentions  a  sale  of  lands  to  him,  and  a  large 
tract  of    country,  which,    "  in    consideration    of    the 
many  kindnesses  and  services  he  hath  continually  done 
for  us,  we  doe  freely  give  unto  him."     "  It  was  not 
price  and  money,"  says  Roger  Williams,  "  that  could 
have  purchased  Rhode  Island,  but  it  was  obtained  by 
love."     But  he  kept  nothing  himself ;  he  gave  away 
his  lands  to  those  he  thought  most  in  want,  and  only 
desired  that  a  shelter  might  be  found  for  "  persons 
distressed  for  conscience."     Many  such  came  in  proc- 
ess of  time  ;   for   the  "  Antinomian  controversy,"  as 
it  was  called,  had  caused  great  disturbance  in  Boston. 
The  leaders  of   it,  the  Rev.  John  Wheelwright,  and 
his  sister-in-law,  Mrs.  Ann  Hutchinson,  promulgated 
their  views  so  freely  that  they  were  banished  from  the 
colony — the  former  going  to  the  head-waters  of  the 
Piscataqua,  and  the  latter  following  Roger  Williams. 

Williarti  Dyre  had  not  remained  a  silent  spectator 
in  all  this  controversy.  He  warmly  espoused  the 
cause  of  Wheelwright;  and  to  use  his  own  words, 
"  because  his  hand  was  to  the  seditious  writing  and 
defended   the  sanu,^''   he  was  disfranchised    and    dis- 


12  SOME    RECORDS   OF   THE   DYER   FAMILY. 

armed,  and  finally  was  driven  out  of  Massachusetts 
Colony,  to  the  new  settlement  formed  by  Roger 
Williams.  Mary  Dyre  had  taken  a  prominent  part  in 
the  Antinomian  controversy,  whilst  her  force  of 
character,  and  vigorous  understanding,  no  doubt, 
caused  her  to  be  regarded  as  a  formidable  opponent 
by  the  orthodox  Puritans.  When  Mrs.  Hutchinson 
was  cast  out  of  the  church,  young  Mrs.  Dyre  walked 
out  with  her,  in  presence  of  the  whole  congregation. 
A  fact  recorded  by  Governor  Winthrop. 

The  brave  woman,  even  then,  was  not  afraid  to 
"  show  her  colors." 

Soon  after  reaching  their  new  home,  William 
Dyre  joined  seventeen  others,  and  they  bought 
the  island  of  Rhode  Island,  then  called  Aquid- 
neck,  or  the  "  Isle  of  Peace," — a  name  which  should 
have  been  retained,  but  Governor  Coddington 
thought  otherwise,  and,  from  a  fancied  resemblance  to 
the  Isle  of  Rhodes  in  the  Mediterranean  Sea,  he 
changed  the  name,  and  it  soon  became  known  as 
Rhode  Island.  Pocasset  was  the  Indian  name  of  the 
place  where  the  first  English  settlement  upon  Aquid- 
neck  was  established.  Ten  coats,  and  twenty  hoes, 
were  given  to  the  resident  Indians  to  vacate  the  lands, 
and  five  fathoms  of  wampum  were  paid  to  the  local 
sachem.  Before  leaving  Providence,  this  civil  com- 
pact was  drawn  up  and  signed  : 

"  7th  day  of  the  1st  month  (IVIarch),  1638. 

"We,  whose  names  are  underwritten,  do  hereby 
solemnly,  in  the  presence  of  Jehovah,  incorporate  our- 


SOME    RECOKDS    OF   THE    DYER    FAMILY.  13 

selves  into  a  body  politic ;  and  as  he  shall  help,  will 
submit  our  persons,  lives,  and  estates  unto  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  the  King  of  Kings  and  Lord  of  Lords, 
and  to  all  those  perfect  and  most  absolute  laws  of  His, 
given  us  in  His  holy  word  of  truth,  to  be  guided  and 
judged  thereby. 

"  Exodus,  xxiv.  3,  4.  II.  Ohron.  xi.  3.  II.  Kings, 
xi.  17." 

Its  signers  were  William  Coddington,  John  Clarke, 
William  Hutchinson,  John  Coggeshall,  Wm.  Aspin- 
wall,  Samuel  Wilbore,  John  Porter,  John  San  ford, 
Edward  Hutchinson,  Jr.,  Thomas  Savage,  William 
Dyre,  William  Freeborne,  Philip  Shearman,  John 
Walker,  Richard  Carder,  Wm.  Baulstone,  Edward 
Hutchinson,  Sr.,  Henry  Bull.  The  names  of  Roger 
Williams  and  Randall  Holden  appear  as  witnesses. 
On  that  day,  William  Dyre  was  chosen  the  first  clerk 
of  the  colony.  He  was  also  chosen  clerk  when  New- 
port was  settled  in  1639.  Upon  consolidation  of  the 
towns  into  "Providence  Plantation  in  Narragansett 
Bay  in  New  England  "  in  1647,  he  was  General  Re- 
corder ;  in  1648,  he  was  Clerk  of  Assembly  ;  and  in 
1650,  Attorney-General.  These  ofiicial  positions  show 
the  high  estimation  in  which  he  was  evidently  held. 
A  year  after  the  settlement  at  Pocasset,  the  colony  had 
increased  so  greatly,  that  a  division  was  deemed  expe- 
dient. A  meeting  was  held,  at  which  the  following 
agreement  was  entered  into  by  the  signers,  by  whom 
the  settlement  of  Newport  was  commenced  on  the 
southwest  side^of  the  island  : 


14  SOME    KECORDS   OF   THE    DYER   FAMILY. 

"  Pocasset  on  the  28th  of  the  2d,  1639. 

"  It  is  agreed  by  us,  whose  hands  are  underwritten, 
to  propagate  a  plantation  in  the  midst  of  the  island 
or  elsewhere ;  and  doe  engage  ourselves  to  bear 
equall  charges,  answerable  to  our  strength  and  estates 
in  common  ;  and  that  our  determination  shall  be  by 
major  voice  of  judge  and  elders,  the  judge  to  have  a 
double  voice." 

Present : 

William  Coddington,  Judge. 

Nicholas  Gaston,  John  Coggeshall,  Wm.  Breton, 
John  Clarke,  Jeremy  Gierke,  Thomas  Hazard,  Henry 
Bull,  Elders. 

William  Dyre,  Clerk. 

In  "  Extracts  from  Rhode  Island  Colonial  Records, 
papers  never  before  published,  relating  to  the  original 
grant  of  lands  to  the  early  settlers  of  Newport,  R.  I.," 
it  is  stated  that  "  William  Dyre  having  exhibited  his 
bill  under  the  Treasurer's  hand  unto  the  sessions  held 
on  the  10th  of  March,  1640,  wherein  appears  full  sat- 
isfaction to  be  given  for  seventy-five  acres  of  land, 
lying  within  the  precincts  of  such  bounds,  as  by  the 
committee,  by  order  appointed,  did  bound  it  withal, 
viz.:  To  begin  at  the  river's  mouth,  over  against 
Coaster's  Harbour,  and  so  by  the  sea,  to  run  up  to  a 
marked  stake,  at  Mr.  Coddington's  corner,  and  so 
down,  upon  an  easterly  line  to  a  marked  tree  over 
against  the  Great  Swamp,  and  so  two  rods  within  the 
swamp,  at  the  two  deepest  corners  of  the  clear  land, 
the  one  at  the  southeast  corner,  and  the  other  upon  a 


SOME    BECORDS   OF   THE    DYER    FAMILY.  15 

straight  line  in  the  northeast,  marked  by  stakes,  and  so 
down  to  a  marked  tree  by  the  river  side ;  the  river 
being  his  bounds  to  the  mouth  thereof.  v,^ith  a  home 
lot  and  a  parcel  of  meadow  and  upland  lying  between 
Mr.  Jeremy  Clarke's  meadow,  and  Mr.  Jeoffrey's  at 
the  north  end  of  the  harbour,  and  north  upon  the 
highway,  with  ten  acres  allowed  by  the  town  order  for 
his  travelling  about  the  island,  lying  within  the  for- 
mer bounds,  which  is  his  proportion. 

"This,  therefore,  doth  evidence  and  testify,  that  all 
those  parcels  of  land  before  specified,  amounting  to 
the  number  of  eighty-seven  acres,  more  or  less,  is  fully 
impropriated  to  said  William  Dyre  and  his  heirs  for 
ever." 

This  land  is  beautifully  situated  on  Narragansett  Bay, 
opposite  Coaster's  Island,  and  is  at  the  extreme  end  of 
what  is  called  "  Old  Newport."  When  I  visited  the 
place  in  September,  1883,  I  found  an  old  family  burial 
ground  of  the  Dyres,  which  is  protected  by  a  high, 
strong  fence,  and  is  literally  "  impropriated  to  the  heirs 
of  William  Dyre,  foreve7\''^  It  was  very  touching  to 
look  upon  this  "  God's  acre,"  the  only  relic  left  to  show 
who  were  the  proprietors  of  that  lovely  spot,  more  than 
two  centuries  ago. 


With  Longfellow, 

"  I  like  that  ancient  Saxon  phrase  which  calls 
The  burial  ground  God's  acre!     It  is  just. 
It  consecrates  each  grave  within  its  walls, 
And  breathes  a  benison  o'er  the  sleeping  dust." 


16  SOME    RECORDS    OF   THE    DYER  FAMILY. 

Many  of  the  inscriptions  on  the  tombstones  are  leg- 
ible, but  undoubtedly,  many  stones  liave  been  broken, 
and  destroyed,  by  the  ravages  of  time.  It  is  probable, 
also,  that  there  were  some  interments,  with  no  stones  to 
mark  the  last  resting  place  of  those  who  were  buried 
there.  The  oldest  stone  legible  is  that  of  Desire  Dyre, 
1707,  and  the  last  interment  was  that  of  Wm.  Dyre  of 
South  Kingstown,  September,  1797,  aged  91  years.  Be- 
sides this  estate  and  some  other  lands,  William  Dyre 
of  Newport,  owned  an  island  in  Narragansett  Bay  con- 
taining 600  acres  which  was  called  "  Dyre's  Island,"  and 
still  bears  his  name.  On  the  5th  August,  1670,  he  gave 
it  to  his  son  William.  After  the  settlement  of  Rhode 
Island,  many  people  of  various  opinions  went  there, 
and  it  used  to  be  said  that  any  man  who  had  lost  his 
religion  would  be  sure  to  find  it  again,  at  some  village 
in  Khode  Island  !  "  The  laws  of  the  colony  were  based 
on  the  plan  of  perfect  religious  toleration,  and  good 
Roger  Williams  would  not  permit  any  thing  else.  In 
the  mean  time,  there  were  various  organizations  for  the 
protection  of  the  laws.  A  formal  act  of  the  whole  peo- 
ple passed  at  this  time,  will  set  their  regard  for  justice 
and  their  care  in  providing  for  its  administration,  in 
still  clearer  light. 

"  By  the  Body  Politicke  in  the  Isle  of  Aquitteneck, 
inhabiting  this  present  25th  of  9th  month,  1639. 

"  In  the  fourteenth  yeare  of  y'  Raign  of  our  Soveraign 
Lord,  King  Charles.  It  is  agreed,  that  as  natural  sub- 
jects to  our  Prince,  and  subject  to  his  Lawes,  all  matters 
that  concerne  the  Peace  shall  be  by  those  that  are  officers 


SOME    RECORDS   OF   THE    DYER    FAMILY.  17 

of  the  Peace  transacted  ;  And  all  actions  of  the  case,  on 
Debt,  shall  be  in  such  Courts  as  by  order  are  here  ap- 
pointed and,  by  such  Judges  as  are  deputed,  heard  and 
legally  determined. 

"Given  at  Niew-Port  on  the  Quarter  Courte  day 
which  was  adjourned  till  y'  day. 

"  William  T>yre^  Secretary." 

At  the  first  General  Court  of  Election  ever  held  in 
Newport,  in  1640,  various  officers  were  elected;  among 
them,  William  Coddington  Governor,  William  Dyre 
Secretary. 

The  first  General  Assembly  met  at  Portsmouth,  1647, 
when  William  Dyre  was  chosen  Eecorder.  They  agreed 
upon  a  body  of  laws,  chiefly  taken  from  the  laws  of 
England,  with  the  addition  of  a  few  suited  to  their  par- 
ticular circumstances.  The  code,  which  contains  noth- 
ing except  civil  regulations,  concludes  thus :  "  Other- 
wise than  thus,  what  is  hei-ein  forbidden,  all  men  may 
walk  as  their  consciences  persuade  them,  every  one  in 
the  name  of  his  God.  And  let  the  lambs  of  the  Most 
High  walk,  in  this  colony,  without  molestation,  in  the 
name  of  Jehovah,  their  God,  for  ever  and  ever." 

Governor  Coddington,  it  is  said,  was  "among  the  most 
turbulent  spirits."  He  was  strongly  attached  to  the 
King's  party,  against  that  of  the  Protector,  and  main- 
tained that  his  authority  was  paramount  in  the  govern- 
ment of  the  colony.  In  1649,  Coddington  went  to  Eng- 
land, and  found  King  Charles  already  beheaded,  and  the 
Commonwealth  declared.  He  obtained  a  hearing  of  the 
2 


18  SOME  RECOKDS   OF   THE   DYER   FAMILY. 

Council,  and  received  a  commission  to  govern  the  island 
of  Rliode  Island,  and  Canoniciit,  during  his  life,  with 
a  council  of  six  men,  to  be  named  by  the  people  and 
approved  by  himself.     The  alarm  felt  throughout  the 
colony  was  great,  and  preparations  were  immediately 
made  to  send  delegates  to  England,  to  obtain  a  revoca- 
tion of  Coddington's  power.     John  Clarke,  Roger  Will- 
iams, and  William  Dyre  were  sent,  and  accomplished 
their  important  errand.     An  order  of  council  was  is- 
sued,   vacating   the    commission   of    Coddington,  and 
ordering  the  towns  again  to  unite  under  the  charter. 
The  mission  was  successful,  at  every  point.     Two  of 
the  agents  remained  in  England,  on  their  private  bus- 
iness, and  also  to  sustain  the  rights  of  the  colony,  while 
Williaon  Dyre  returned  home  with  the  joyful  news, 
leaving  his  wife,  who  had  accompanied  him,  in  England. 
This  was  in  1652.     Some  time  afterward,  when  Cod- 
dington was  elected  Commissioner,  and  there  was  great 
dissatisfaction,  ha  was  compelled  to  submit  to  the  au- 
thority of  the  colony  in  these  words  :    "  I,  William  Cod- 
dington, do  hereby  submit  to  y®  authoritie  of  His  High- 
ness in  this  Colonic,  as  it  is  now"  united,  and  that,  with 
all  my  heart."     In  1653,  active  measures  were  taken 
against  the  Dutch,  who  were  sending  exploring  parties, 
and  making  claims  along  Long  Island  Sound.      William 
Dyre  received  a  commission  to  act  against  the  enemy, 
and  for  a  time  commanded  a  privateer.     The  commis- 
sion "  constituted  Captain  John  Underhill  Commander- 
in-Chief  upon  the  land,  and   Captain   William  Dyre 
Commander-in-Chief  at  sea;   3'et  '"to  join  in  counsel, 


SOME    RECORDS    OF   THE    DYER    FAMILY.  19 

to  be  assistant  each  to  the  other,  for  the  propagating  of 
the  service  promised."  How  much  maritime  skill 
William  Djre  possessed  has  not  come  down  to  us,  but 
he  seems  to  have  been  ready  for  any  emergency.  His 
dislike  of  Coddington  continued  all  these  years,  and 
there  seemed  little  probability  of  any  harmony  between 
them.  In  an  article  on  "  Highways,"  from  the  Colonial 
Land  Evidence,  he  speaks  of  a  "  highway  from  the  town, 
laid  out,  of  two  poles  wide,  to  William  Dyre's  farm,  and 
so  to  lead  to  the  lauds  on  the  north  side  of  the  town, 
viz.:  the  meadows,  Mr.  Coddington's  cow  pasture,  the 
Artillery  garden,  etc."  He  significantly  adds,  "  Thus 
much  I  have  said  and  do  affirm  to  the  best  of  my  un- 
derstanding and  knowledge,  in  the  common  good, 
wherein  all  men  have  right,  and  if  any  one  is  impeached 
the  whole  is  wronged  (as  to  concerning  highways 
through  which  all  have  propriety  of  free  egress).  And 
because  this  particular  doth  emearge  to  that  which  is 
committed  to  our  care,  I  do  declare,  in  my  observation, 
two  or  three  impediments :  First,  Mr.  Coddington,  in 
that  highway  that  goes  to  the  Artillery  garden  and 
burying  place,  he  hath  set  near  sixty  poles  of  fencing 
upon  the  highway,  six  feet  at  least,  at  the  north  end. 
Let  them,  therefore,  that  know  any  injury  in  this 
kind,  put  it  down,  under  their  hands,  as  I  now  have 
done,  and  be  ready  to  make  it  good,  as  I  am,  so 
shall  we  avoid  hypocrisy,  dissimulation,  back-bitting, 
and  secret  wolveish  devourings,  one  of  another, 
and  declare  ourselves  men,  which,  how  unmanlike 
the  practice  of  some  sycovents  are,  is  and  may  safely 


20  SOME    KECORDS    OF   THE    PTER   FAMILY. 

be  demonstrated :  Therefore,  let  all  that  love  the 
light  come  forth  to  the  light  and  show  their  deeds. 
So  saith  William  Dyre.  This  as  a  record,  I  give  forth 
to  be  a  record,  from  the  simple  and  honest  intent  of  ray 
heart  and  soul,  this  15th  February,  1654." 

Certainly  no  one  can  accuse  William  Dyre  of  a  want 
of  frankness,  and  he  seems  always  to  have  been  most 
honorable  in  his  intention,  and  just  in  his  dealings.  His 
dislike  of  Governor  Coddington  was  always  ready  to 
manifest  itself.  This  dislike  was  shared  by  many  others, 
and  a  letter  was  addressed  to  Oliver  Cromwell,  setting 
forth  the  complaints  of  the  colonists,  to  which  he  replied 
by  letter  March  29th,  1655,  telling  them  that  they  were 
to  "  proceed  in  their  government  according  to  the  tenor 
of  their  charter,  taking  care  of  the  peace  and  safety  of 
those  plantations,  that  neither  through  any  intestine 
commotions,  or  foreign  invasions,  there  do  arise  any 
detriment  or  dishonor  to  this  commonwealth."  He 
adds,  "And  so  we  bid  you  farewell,  and  rest  your  loving 
friend,  Oliver,  P." 

As  their  "  loving  friend  "  did  not  long  remain  Protec- 
tor, a  very  liberal  charter  was  granted  by  King  Charles 
II.,  July  8,  1663,  and  remained  in  force  for  many 
years.  In  1664,  the  royal  commissioners  having 
nearly  completed  the  subjugation  of  the  Dutch  provin- 
ces, had  their  headquarters  on  board  the  English  fleet 
lying  in  the  harbor  of  New  York.  A  delegation,  con- 
sisting of  John  Clarke,  who  had  lately  returned  home, 
Captain  John  Cranston,  and  Wm.  Byre,  was  sent  on 
with  a  letter  from  the  authorities  of  Ehode  Island,  ex- 


SOME   RECORDS   OF  THE   DYER  FAMILY.  21 

pressing  the  gratitude  of  the  colony  to  his  Majesty  for 
the  charter,  and  congratulating  the  commissioners.  It 
is  pleasant  to  know  that,  after  various  litigations  with 
Coddington  for  many  years,  William  Dyre  and  he 
were  formally  reconciled  to  each  other  May  14,  1656. 

But  a  great  sorrow  was  in  store  for  William  Dyre. 
"When  he  left  England  in  1652,  his  wife  remained 
there  with  her  relatives.  One  can  imagine  her  delight 
in  seeing  once  more  the  beautiful  land  of  her  birth, 
after  all  the  hardships  of  this  western  wilderness.  Dur- 
ing her  visit  of  five  years  in  Great  Britain,  Mary 
Dyre  became  a  Friend,  and  was  a  minister  of  that 
society,  at  the  time  of  her  return  to  the  forbidden 
port  of  Boston.  The  year  1656  will  be  darkly  mem- 
orable in  the  annals  of  New  England,  for  the  arrival 
of  the  Quakers,  and  the  commencement  of  their  per- 
secution in  Boston.  The  appearance  of  this  "cursed 
sect  of  heretics,"  as  they  were  called,  so  alarmed  the 
Puritans,  that  a  day  of  public  humiliation  was  ap- 
pointed to  be  held  in  all  the  churches,  mainly  on  tlieir 
account.  A  stringent  law  was  enacted  for  their  sup- 
pression, and  two  years  later,  their  tenets  were  made 
a  capital  offence.  Fines,  imprisonment,  whipi)ing, 
banishment,  mutilation,  and  death,  were  inflicted  upon 
them. 

The  wildest  fanaticism  on  the  part  of  the  Quakers 
was  met  by  frenzied  bigotry  on  the  part  of  the 
Puritans.  Such  was  the  most  miserable  state  of  affairs, 
when  Mary  Dyre,  in  1657,  returned  to  the  land  of 
her  adoption.     She  had  no  knowledge  of  what  liad 


22  SOME   EECORDS   OF  THE   DYER   FAMILY. 

been  done  in  Massachusetts,  but  was  at  once  seized, 
and  cast  into  prison. 

When  her  husband  (who  had  not  adopted  the  faith 
of  tlie  Friends)  heard  of  her  imprisonment,  he  came 
from  Rhode  Island,  and  succeeded  in  obtaining  her  re- 
lease, and  leave  to  take  her  home,  after  becoming 
"  bound  in  a  great  penalty  not  to  lodge  her  in  any 
town  of  the  colony,  nor  to  permit  any  to  have  speech 
with  her  on  the  journey." 

What  a  meeting  for  the  long-parted  husband  and 
wife,  and  how  humiliating  such  a  concession  !  Mary 
Dyre  spent  some  time  in  her  Newport  home,  and  then 
ventured  again  into  Massachusetts,  to  carry  comfort 
and  cheer,  to  her  captiv^e  fellow-believers  there,  feeling 
that  she  went  in  obedience  to  the  divine  call.  She 
was  again  imprisoned,  and  at  her  arraignment  before 
Governor  Endicott  she  "gave  no  other  answer  but 
that  she  denied  our  law,  and  came  to  bear  witness 
against  it,  and  could  not  choose  but  come." 

One  cannot  but  think,  in  this  connection,  of  the 
often  quoted  saying  of  grand  old  Martin  Luther, 
when  he  made  his  defence  at  the  Diet  of  Worms. 
"Here  standi.  lean  do  no  otherwise.  God  help 
me !"  As  Marj^  Dj^re's  brave  determination  could  not 
be  conquered,  Governor  Endicott  pronounced  the  sen- 
tence of  death  upon  her. 

"  After  Mary  Dyer  had  heard  her  sentence,  she  only 
replied  by  the  significant  words,  '  The  will  of  the  Lord 
be  done.'  And  when  Endicott  impatiently  exclaimed, 
'  Take  her  away,  marshal,'  she  added,  '  Yea,  joyfully  I 


SOME    RECORDS    OF   THE    DYER    FAMILY.  23 

go  ; '  for  her  heart  was  filled  witli  heavenly  consolation 
from  the  love  of  Christ,  and  from  the  thought  that  she 
was  counted  worthy  to  suffer  for  His  sake.  She  told 
the  marshal  that  it  was  unnecessarv  for  him  to  ofuard 
her  to  the  prison.  'I  believe  you,  Mrs.  Dyre,'  he 
answered,  *  but  I  must  do  as  I  am  commanded.' 
From  her  prison  she  addressed  an  '  Appeal  to  the 
Kulers  of  Boston,'  in  which  she  asks  nothing  for 
herself,  but  manifests  the  courage  of  an  apostle 
contending  for  the  truth,  and  the  tenderness  of  a 
woman,  feeling  for  the  sufferings  of  her  people.  Her 
appeal  is  pervaded  throughout,  by  a  simple  and 
touching  dignity.  She  writes :  '  "Whereas,  I  am 
by  many  charged  with  the  guiltiness  of  my  own 
blood ;  if  you  mean  in  my  coming  to  Boston,  I  am 
therein  clear  and  justified  by  the  Lord,  in  whose 
will  I  came,  who  will  require  my  blood  of  you, 
be  sure,  who  have  made  a  law  to  take  away  the  lives 
of  the  innocent  servants  of  God,  if  thev  come  amonor 
you,  who  are  called  by  you  cursed  Quakers ;  although 
I  say  I  am  a  living  witness  for  them  and  the  Lord, 
that  he  hath  blessed  them,  and  sent  them  unto  you : 
therefore,  be  not  found  fisjliters  ao-ainst  God,  but  let 
my  counsel  and  request  be  accepted  with  you  to  repeal 
all  such  laws,  that  the  truth  and  servants  of  the  Lord 
may  have  free  passage  among  you,  and  you  be  kept 
from  shedding  innocent  blood,  which  I  know  there  are 
many  among  you  would  not  do,  if  they  knew  it  so  to 
be.  I  have  no  self  ends,  the  Lord  knoweth :  for  if  my 
life  were  freely  granted  by  you  it  would  not  avail  me. 


24  SOME    KECOEDS    OF   THE   DYER   FAMILY. 

nor  could  I  expect  it  of  you,  so  long  as  I  should  daily 
hear  or  see  the  sufferings  of  these  people,  my  dear 
brethren,  with  whom  my  life  is  bound  up,  as  I  have 
done  these  two  years ;  and  now  it  is  like  to  increase, 
even  unto  death,  for  no  evil  doing  but  coming  among 
you.  Was  ever  the  like  laws  heard  of  among  a  peo- 
ple that  profess  Christ  come  in  the  flesh  ?  And 
have  such  no  other  weapons  but  such  laws  to  fight 
against  spiritual  wickedness,  withal,  as  you  call  it  ? 
Woe  is  me  for  you !  I  leave  these  lines  with  you, 
appealing  to  the  faithful  and  true  witness  of  God, 
which  is  one  in  all  consciences,  before  whom  we  must 
all  appear — with  whom  I  shall  eternally  rest  in  ever- 
lasting joy  and  peace,  whether  you  will  hear  or  forbear. 
With  Him  is  my  reward,  with  whom  to  live  is  my  joy, 
and  to  die  is  my  gain,  though  I  had  not  had  your 
forty-eight  hours'  warning  for  the  preparation  of  the 
death  of  Maiy  Dyre.  Oh,  let  none  of  you  put  this 
good  day  far  from  you,  which  verily,  in  the  light  of 
the  Lord,  I  see  approaching,  even  to  many  in  and 
about  Boston,  which  is  the  bitterest  and  darkest  pro- 
fessing place,  and  so  to  continue  so  long  as  you  have 
done,  that  ever  I  heard  of.  Let  the  time  past,  there- 
fore, suffice  for  such  a  profession  as  brings  forth  such 
fruits  as  these  laws  are.  In  love  and  in  the  spirit  of 
meekness,  I  again  beseech  you,  for  I  have  no  enmity 
to  the  persons  of  any ;  but  you  shall  know  that  God 
will  not  be  mocked  ;  but  what  ye  sow,  that  shall  ye 
reap  for  Him,  that  will  render  to  every  one  according 
to  the  deeds  done  in  the  body,  whether  good  or  evil. 
Even  so  be  it,  saith  Mary  Dyre.'  " 


SOME    RECORDS    OF   THE    DYER   FAMILY.  25 

It  is  said  that  on  the  day  preceding  that  appointed 
for  the  execution,  Mary  Dyre's  eldest  son  (Samuel)  ar- 
rived in  Boston,  and  was  allowed  to  remain  all  night 
with  his  mother ;  he  came  in  the  vain  hope  of  inducing 
her  to  make  such  concessions  as  might  be  the  means 
of  saving  her  life.  Boston  Common  was  separated  by 
the  distance  of  a  mile  from  the  jail,  and  the  pris- 
oners were  escorted  bv  two  hundred  men,  armed  with 
halberds,  guns,  swords,  and  pikes,  in  addition  to  many 
horsemen.  The  drummers  were  ordered  to  walk  im- 
mediately before  the  captives,  and  to  beat  more  loudly, 
if  they  should  attempt  to  speak.  William  Robinson 
and  Marmaduke  Stevenson,  who  had  experienced  the 
blessedness  of  living  under  a  higher  and  holier  law  than 
any  mere  human  authority,  felt  that  the  Lord  still  had 
need  of  them  to  testify  for  him  in  this  colony,  and  had 
remained  there,  at  the  peril  of  their  lives.  They  also 
were  condemned  to  death,  and  went  with  Mary  Dyre 
to  the  scaffold,  "with  great  cheerfulness,"  saying  '"We 
suffer  not  as  evil-doers,  but  as  those  who  have  testilied 
and  manifested  the  truth.''  From  "  A  History  of  the 
Christian  People  called  Quakers,"  by  William  Sewel,  I 
quote  the  conclusion  of  this  terrible  tragedy.  "  Mary 
Dyre,  seeing  her  companions  hanging  dead  before  her, 
also  stepped  up  the  ladder ;  but,  after  her  dress  was 
tied  about  her  feet,  the  noose  put  about  her  neck,  and 
her  face  covered  with  a  handkerchief,  which  the  priest 
Wilson  lent  the  hangman,  just  as  she  was  about  to  be 
executed,  a  cry  was  heard  :  '  Stop  !  she  is  reprieved  I ' 
Her  feet  then  being  loosed,  they  bade  her  come  down. 


26  SOME    EECOEDS   OF   THE    DYER   FAMILY. 

But  she,  whose  mind  was  already,  as  it  were,  in  Heaven, 
stood  still,  and  said  she  was  then  willing  to  suffer  as 
her  brethren  did,  unless  they  would  annul  their  wicked 
law.  Little  heed  was  given  to  what  she  said  ;  but  they 
took  her  down,  and  the  mai'shal  and  others,  taking  her 
by  the  arms,  carried  her  to  prison  again.  That  she  was 
freed  from  the  gallows,  this  time,  was  at  the  interces- 
sion of  her  son,  to  whojn,  it  seems,  they  could  not  then 
resolve  to  deny  that  favor.  She,  now  having  heard 
why  she  was  reprieved,  wrote  the  next  day,  being  the 
28th  of  October,  1659,  the  following  letter  to  the  Court : 

"  '  Once  more  to  the  General  Court  assembled  in  Bos- 
ton, speaks  Mary  Dyre,  even  as  before.  My  life  is  not 
accepted,  neither  availeth  me,  in  comparison  of  the 
lives,  and  liberty  of  the  truth,  and  servants  of  the  living 
God,  for  which,  in  the  bowels  of  love  and  meekness,  I 
sought  you;  yet  nevertheless,  with  wicked  hands, 
have  you  put  two  of  them  to  death,  which  makes  me 
to  feel  that  the  mercy  of  the  wicked  is  cruelty.  I  rather 
choose  to  die  than  to  live,  as  from  you,  as  guilty  of  their 
innocent  blood ;  therefore,  seeing  my  request  is  hin- 
dered, I  leave  you  to  the  righteous  Judge  and  Searcher 
of  all  hearts,  who,  with  the  pure  measure  of  light  He 
hath  given  to  every  man  to  profit  withal,  will,  in  his 
due  time,  let  you  see  whose  servants  you  are,  and  of 
whom  you  have  taken  counsel,  which  I  desire  you  to 
search  into,  but  all  his  counsel  hath  been  slighted,  and 
you  would  none  of  his  reproofs.  Read  your  portion  : 
Proverbs,  i.  24  to  32. 

'' '  "When  I  heard  your  last  order  read,  it  was  a  disturb- 


SOME    RECORDS   OF   THE    DYER    FAMILY.  27 

ance  unto  me  that  was  so  freely  offering  up  my  life  to 
Him  tliat  gave  it  to  me,  and  sent  me  hither  so  to  do, 
which  obedience  he  gloriously  accompanied  with  his 
presence,  and  peace  and  love  in  me,  in  which  I  rested 
from  my  labors  till,  by  your  order  and  the  people.  I 
was  so  far  disturl^ed  that  I  could  not  retain  any  more 
of  the  words  thereof,  than  that  I  should  return  to 
prison  and  there  remain  forty  and  eight  hours ;  to  which 
I  submitted,  finding  nothing  from  the  Lord  to  the  con- 
trary, that  I  may  know  what  His  pleasure  and  counsel 
is  concerning  me,  on  whom  I  wait  therefore,  for  he  is 
my  life  and  the  length  of  my  days ;  and,  as  I  said  be- 
fore, I  came  at  His  command,  and  go  at  His  command. 

"  'Mary  Dyre.' 

"The  magistrates,  now  perceiving  that  the  putting 
"William  R,ol)inson  and  Marmaduke  Stevenson  to  death 
caused  great  discontent  among  the  people,  resolved  to 
send  away  Mary  Dyre,  thereby  to  calm  their  minds  a 
little.  And  so  she  was  put  on  horseback,  and  by  four 
horsemen  conveyed  fifteen  miles  towards  Rhode  Island, 
where  she  was  left  with  a  horse,  and  a  man,  to  be  con- 
veyed the  rest  of  the  way ;  which  she  soon  sent  back, 
and  so  repaired  home.  By  the  style  of  her  letters  and 
her  undaunted  carriage,  it  appears  that  she  had  indeed 
many  extraordinary  qualities.  She  was  also  of  a  comely 
and  grave  countenance,  of  a  good  family  and  estate, 
and  a  mother  of  several  children  ;  but  her  husl)and,  it 
seems,  was  of  another  persuasion. 

"After  her  return  to  Rhode  Island,  she  went  from 


28  SOME    RECORDS   OF   THE   DYER   FAMILY. 

thence  to  Long  Island,  where  she  spent  the  most  part 
of  the  winter,  and  then,  coming  home  again,  she  was 
moved  to  return  to  that  bloody  town  of  Boston,  whither 
she  came  on  the  21st  of  the  third  month,  1660,  and  on 
the  31st  she  was  sent  for  by  the  General  Court.  Being 
come,  the  Governor,  John  Endicott,  said  :  '  Are  you  the 
same  Mary  Dyre  that  was  here  before  ? '  And  it  seems 
he  was  preparing  an  evasion  for  her,  as  she  might 
easily  have  replied  'No.'  But  she  was  so  far  from 
disguising,  that  she  answered,  undauntedly  :  '  I  am  the 
same  Mary  Dyre  that  was  here  at  the  last  General 
Court.'  Then  Endicott  said :  '  You  will  own  yourself 
a  Quaker,  will  you  not  ? '  To  which  Mary  Dyre  said, 
'I  own  myself  to  be  reproachfully  called  so.'  And 
Endicott  said  the  sentence  was  passed  upon  her  at  the 
last  General  Court,  and  now,  likewise.  '  You  must  re- 
turn to  the  prison,  and  there  remain  till  to-morrow,  at 
nine  o'clock ;  then  from  thence  you  must  go  to  the 
gallows,  and  there  be  hanged  till  you  are  dead.'  To 
which  Mary  Dyre  said :  '  This  is  no  more  than  what 
thou  saidst  before.'  And  Endicott  returned :  '  But 
now  it  is  to  be  executed ;  therefore,  prepare  yourself ; 
to-morrow,  at  nine  o'clock.'  She  then  spoke  thus  :  '  I 
came  in  obedience  to  the  will  of  God,  the  last  General 
Court,  desiring  you  to  repeal  your  unrighteous  laws  of 
banishment  on  pain  of  death  ;  and  that  same  is  my 
work  now,  and  earnest  request ;  although  I  told  you 
that,  if  you  refused  to  repeal  them,  the  Lord  would  send 
others  of  his  servants  to  witness  against  them.'  Where- 
upon Endicott  asked  her  if  she  was  a  prophetess?    And 


SOME    RECORDS   OF   THE    DYER    FAMILY.  29 

she  answered  that  she  spoke  the  words  that  the  Lord 
spoke  in  her,  and  now  the  thing  was  come  to  pass.  And 
beginning  to  speak  of  her  call,  Endicott  cried,  '  Away 
with  her  !  away  with  her  ! '  So  she  was  brought  to  the 
prison-house  where  she  was  before,  and  kept  close  shut 
up  until  the  next  day.  About  the  appointed  time  the 
marshal,  Michaelson,  came,  and  called  her  to  come 
hastily ;  and  coming  into  the  room  where  she  was,  she 
desired  him  to  'stay  a  little;'  and,  speaking  mildly, 
said  she  '  should  be  ready  presentl3\'  But  he,  being 
of  a  rough  temper,  said  he  '  could  not  wait  upon  her, 
but  she  should  now  wait  upon  him.'  One  Margaret 
Smith,  her  companion,  being  grieved  to  see  such  hard- 
heartedness,  spoke  something  against  their  unjust  laws 
and  proceedings.  To  which  he  said,  '  You  shall  have 
your  share  of  the  same.'  Then  Mary  Dyre  was  brought 
forth,  and,  with  a  band  of  soldiers,  led  through  the 
town,  the  drums  being  beaten  before  and  behind  her, 
and  so  continued,  that  none  might  hear  her  speak  all 
the  way  to  the  place  of  execution,  which  was  about  a 
mile.  With  this  guard  she  came  to  the  gallows,  and, 
being  gone  up  the  ladder,  some  said  to  her  that,  if  she 
would  return,  she  might  come  down  and  save  her  life. 
To  which  she  replied,  '  Nay,  I  cannot ;  for,  in  ol^edieuce 
to  the  will  of  the  Lord  I  came,  and  in  His  will  I  abide, 
faithful  to  the  death.'  Then  Captain  John  "Webb  said, 
that  she  had  been  there  before,  and  had  the  sentence  of 
banishment  upon  pain  of  death,  and  broken  the  law  in 
coming  again  now,  and  therefore  she  was  guilty  of  her 
own  blood.     To  which  she  returned  :  '  Nay,  I  came  to 


30  SOME   RECORDS   OF   THE   DYER   FAMILY. 

keep  blood-guiltiness  from  you,  desiring  you  to  repeal 
the  unrighteous  and  unjust  law  of  banishment  upon 
pain  of  death  made  against  the  innocent  servants  of  the 
Lord ;  therefore,  my  blood  will  be  required  at  your 
hands,  who  wilfully  do  it.  But  for  those  that  do  it  in 
the  simplicity  of  their  hearts,  I  desire  the  Lord  to  for- 
give them.  I  came  to  do  the  will  of  my  Father,  and 
in  obedience  to  His  will  I  stand,  even  to  death.'  The 
priest,  Wilson,  said  :  '  Mary  Dyre,  O  repent !  O  repent ! 
and  be  not  so  deluded  and  carried  away  by  the  deceit 
of  the  devil.'  To  this  Mary  Dyre  answered  :  '  Nay, 
man,  I  am  not  now  to  repent.'  And  being  asked  by  some, 
whether  she  would  have  the  elders  pray  for  her,  she  said : 
'I  know  never  an  elder  here.'  Being  farther  asked 
whether  she  would  have  any  of  the  people  to  pray  for 
her,  she  answered  that  she  desired  the  prayers  of  all 
the  people  of  God.  When  accused  of  having  said  she 
had  been  in  Paradise,  she  replied  without  hesitation  : 
'  Yea,  I  have  been  in  Paradise  these  several  days.  This 
is  to  me  an  hour  of  the  greatest  joy  I  ever  had  in  this 
world.  No  ear  can  hear,  no  tongue  can  utter,  no  heart 
can  understand  the  sweet  incomes  and  the  refreshings 
of  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  which  I  now  feel ! '  In  this 
frame  of  mind,  this  honest,  valiant  woman  died, — a 
martyr  to  her  faith." 

A  Friend  who  had  united  in  her  ministerial  services 
on  Shelter  Island,  sums  up  his  description  of  her,  by 
saying:  "She  even  shined  in  the  image  of  God." 
There  will  always  be  a  difference  of  opinion  as  to  the 
course  she  pursued ;  but  no  one  can  question  her  won- 


SOME   RECORDS   OF   THE    DYER    FAMILY.  31 

derful  bravery,  and  certainly,  not  many  can  now  be 
found,  who  would  have  the  courage  to  imitate  it.  The 
raotto  of  one  branch  of  the  Dyer  family,  "  Terrere  nolo, 
timere  nescio"  (To  affright,  I  would  not — to  fear,  I 
know  not),  seems  to  have  been  applicable  in  her  case. 
A  strong  sense  of  duty,  and  an  intense  hatred  of  wrong, 
influenced  her  actions ;  and  while  we  may,  perhaps,  feel 
that  it  was  a  mistaken  duty,  we  cannot  but  admire  and 
reverence  the  real  nobleness,  and  grandeur,  of  her  char- 
acter. The  "  Divine  immanence,"  of  which  our  Quaker 
poet,  John  G.  Whittier,  speaks,  seems  to  have  lifted  her 
above  all  the  sufferings  of  earth,  and  given  her  a  faith 
which  nothing  could  weaken — a  courage  which  never 
faltered. 

Edward  Wanton,  a  member  of  one  of  the  most  dis- 
tinguished families  of  Ehode  Island,  and  the  first  of 
the  name  in  America,  was  an  officer  of  the  guard,  when 
Mary  Dyre  suffered  death.  The  unshaken  firmness 
with  which  she  submitted  to  her  fate  moved  Wanton, 
greatly.  "  Alas,  mother !  "  said  he,  as  he  went  into  his 
house  after  the  execution,  "  we  have  been  murdering 
the  Lord's  people  ;"  and  taking  off  his  sword,  he  made  a 
solemn  vow  never  to  wear  it  again.  Kot  long  after- 
ward, he  became  a  member  of  the  society  of  Friends. 
Amelia  Opie,  in  her  excellent  work  entitled  "  Illustra- 
tions of  Lying,"  mentions  Mary  Dyre  as  one  of  the  in- 
stances of  those  M'hom  even  the  fear  of  death  has  not 
been  able  to  terrify  into  falsehood,  because  they  were 
supported  in  their  integrity  by  the  fear  of  God. 

As  William  Dyre  had  not  adopted  the  tenets  of  the 


32  SOME    RECORDS   OF   THE    DYER   FAMILY. 

Friends,  it  could  hardly  have  been  possible  for  him  to 
sympathize  in  the  views  of  his  wife  ;  and  no  doubt,  her 
course  did  not  always  meet  with  his  approval.  He 
wrote  many  pathetic  letters  to  Governor  Endicott, 
sometimes  "  blaming  her,"  but  speaking  of  her  as  his 
"  dear  wife."  She  spent  much  time  away  from  home, 
in  ministering  to  the  comfort  of  those  who  needed  her 
aid.  It  has  been  said  that  "  no  Puritanical  power,  no 
human  hand,  was  strong  enough  to  suppress  the  heav- 
en-implanted and  divinely  directed  zeal  of  the  Friends 
to  share  their  spiritual  treasure  with  others."  A  few 
days  before  Mary  Dyre's  death,  her  husband  in  great 
anguish  of  mind,  he  being  wholly  ignorant  that  she 
-meditated  this  fatal  step,  wrote  to  the  General  Court  of 
Massachusetts,  once  more  imploring  its  clemency. 
His  entreaties  would  have  moved  a  stone  to  pity. 

But  it  was  now,  too  late.  In  a  letter  to  Governor 
Endicott  dated  May  27,  1660,  he  says,  "  I  have  not 
seen  my  wife  lately  and,  therefore,  cannot  tell  how,  in 
the  frame  of  her  spirit,  she  was  moved  thus  again,  to 
run  so  great  a  hazard  to  herself,  and  come  to  your 
jurisdiction.     Unhappy  journey  !  " 

Those  were,  indeed,  bitter  days  for  "William  Dyre, 
and  for  his  family.  There  were  many  other  instances 
of  most  revolting  cruelty  practiced  upon  persons  not 
resident  in  Ehode  Island,  and  which  continued  till 
Charles  II.  peremptorily  forbade  any  further  murders 
to  be  perpetrated  in  the  name  of  God,  by  those  infuri- 
ated zealots.  An  Eno-lish  writer  has  said  that  "  the  most 
important  fact  concerning  Mary  Dyre  is  that  of  her 


SOME    RECORDS   OF   THE    DYER    FAMILY.  33 

murder  having  been  the  motive  of  the  wonderfully 
liberal  charter  granted  by  Charles  IL,  to  the  province 
of  Rhode  Island,  making  it  the  lirst  spot  of  earth  on 
the  globe,  whereon  religious  toleration  and  absolute 
freedom  of  worship  were  established  by  law.  What 
influence  the  Dyres  may  have  possessed  at  court 
is  not  known,  but  it  is  possible  to  account  for  the 
interest  taken  in  her  fate  by  Charles  II.,  (who  is 
not  to  be  credited  with  any  purely  humane  considera- 
tions,) from  the  fact  that  Mai-y  had  probably  descended 
from  Sir  Ludovick  Dyer,  Baronet,  of  Stoughton, 
Hampshire  county,  whose  patent  bears  date  of  8th 
June,  1627,  (temp.  Charles  I.)." 

Arnold,  in  his  history  of  Rhode  Island,  says  of  the 
Puritans  :  "  In  estimating  their  characters,  we  are  too 
apt  to  judge  them  by  the  light  of  the  present  day. 
They  founded  a  colony  for  their  own  faith,  without 
any  idea  of  tolerating  others.  For  doing  this,  they  have 
been  chai-ged  with  bigotry,  fanaticism,  and  folly.  Every 
epithet  has  been  applied  to  them,  that  can  be  employed 
to  express  detestation  of  the  conduct  of  men  acting  un- 
der a  sober  conviction  of  truth.  Regarding  their  con- 
duct from  the  standpoint  of  the  nineteenth  century,  all 
this  may  be  just.  The  like  proceedings  in  this  age, 
would  deserve  the  severest  sentence  of  condemnation. 
But  not  so,  two  hundred  years  ago.  The  bigotry  of 
the  Puritans  was  the  bigotry  of  their  times.  In  every 
act,  they  illustrated  the  spirit  of  the  age."  From  this 
point  of  view,  we  must  forgive  them  for  the  bitterness 
of  a  persecution  which  brought  the  life  of  Mary  Dyrc 
3 


34  SOME   RECOKDS   OF   THE   DYER   FAMILY. 

to  an  untimely  end  on  the  1st  of  June,  1660.  It  has 
been  said  of  her  that  she  was  "one  of  those  rare  spirits 
who  2i.YQ  predestined  to  become  martyrs  and  saints  to 
the  faith  they  profess."  The  sons  of  William  and 
Mary  Dyre  were  Samuel,  William,  Henry,  Mahershal- 
alhashbaz,  and  Charles.  The  following  record  shows 
that  there  were,  at  least,  two  daughters :  "  July  25, 
1670,  Samuel  and  Henry  Dyre  bind  themselves  to 
their  father,  William  Dyre,  to  pay  to  their  sister  (eld- 
est daughter  of  William)  £100  within  three  years  after 
the  death  of  their  father,  and  to  Elizabeth  Dyre  (second 
daughter  of  William)  the  sum  of  £40  when  eighteen 
years  of  age."  The  remarkable  Scripture  name  given 
to  the  fourth  son,  can  be  found  in  the  eighth  chapter 
of  Isaiah,  first  verse.  It  is  a  striking  illustration  of 
the  great  fondness  for  Old  Testament  names,  which 
prevailed  at  that  time, — a  fondness  which,  it  is  said, 
brought  Beelzebub  into  use.  The  tragic  death  of  the 
wife  and  mother  must  have  greatly  saddened  the  lives 
of  William  Dyre  and  his  family;  but  unfortunately,  our 
accounts  of  them  are  very  meagre.  The  commercial 
prosperity  of  Newport  began  early  in  the  history  of  the 
country,  when,  owing  to  its  magnificent  harbor,  it  be- 
came one  of  the  principal  ports  of  the  New  World, 
and  for  a  time  rivalled  New  York  in  its  general  com- 
merce, and  surpassed  it  in  the  special  branches  of  whal- 
ing and  trade  with  Africa  and  the  Indies.  It  is  pain- 
ful to  add  that  many  of  the  fortunes  which  were  ac- 
cumulated were  the  result  of  a  vigorous  prosecution  of 
the  African  slave  trade.     On  the  breaking  out  of   the 


SOME    RECORDS   OF   THE    DYER    FAMILY.  35 

Revolutionary  War,  Newport  was,  to  a  great  extent,  de- 
serted by  its  inhabitants  and,  being  left  in  a  defenceless 
state,  was  occupied  by  the  British  for  the  three  years 
succeeding  1776.  It  was  used  for  the  most  part  as  a 
naval  station,  though  some  SOOO  English  and  Plessians 
were,  during  most  of  the  time,  either  quartered  in  the 
town  or  encamped  in  its  suburbs.  When  the  town 
was  evacuated  in  1779,  many  buildings  were  wantonly 
destroyed.  At  this  time,  the  inhabitants  numbered 
only  about  4000  souls ;  and  although  efforts  were  at 
once  made  to  restore  its  prosperity  as  a  commercial 
port,  it  never  recovered  from  the  depressing  effects  of 
British  occupation.  It  is  unfortunate  that  the  town 
records  were  either  carried  off,  or  destroyed  hy  the 
British,  for,  with  them,  was  lost  the  only  source  of  in- 
formation regarding  the  glory  of  ante- Revolutionary 
Newport.  The  loss  of  these  valuable  documents  pre- 
vents us  from  having  much  knowledge  of  the  marriages, 
births,  and  deaths  of  members  of  the  Dyre  family,  or 
their  wills.  Neither  do  we  know  what  were  their 
church  relations.  William  Dyre,  after  the  death  of  his 
wife,  continued  his  public  services,  and  was  chosen  So- 
licitor for  the  colony.  In  1665,  in  a  petition  to  the  Com- 
missioners, he  offended  the  authorities  by  the  freedom 
of  his  complaints ;  and  "  being  reasoned  with,  admit- 
ted his  fault,  in  writing,  to  the  Assembly,  and  received 
pardon."  On  May  27th,  1669,  it  is  recorded  that 
"  William  Dyre,  Secretary  of  the  Councell,  this  day 
rendered  up  unto  the  Councell,  the  books  and  ])apers 
which  belonged  unto  them,  and  also  the  scale.''     It  is 


36  SOME    RECORDS    OF   THE    DYER    FAMILY. 

hardly  possible  that  a  life  of  such  constant  activity  and 
care  should  pass  without  leaving  its  traces  upon  him, 
in  various  v^-ays,  and  he  must  at  times  have  been  very 
weary  of  it.  Many  years  had  passed  since  he  first  land- 
ed in  America,  and  how  little  peace,  and  quietness,  he 
had  known !  His  children,  too,  were  beginning  to 
leave  him  for  other  homes.  William  Dyre,  Jr.,  about 
the  time  of  his  mother's  death,  went  to  the  State  of 
Delaware.  There  are  many  of  his  descendants,  among 
the  first  families  of  Delaware  and  Maryland.  The 
"Wynkoops,  Georges,  Bradfords.  the  families  of  Judge 
Milligan,  of  Wilmington,  and  of  the  Hon.  Lewis  Mc- 
Lane,  all  belong  to  the  Dyre  genesis. 

Samuel  Dyre,  the  oldest  son  of  William  and  Mary, 
married  Ann  Hutchinson,  daughter  of  Captain  Edward 
Hutchinson,  and  granddaughter  of  the  famous  Ann 
Hutchinson.  She  was  also  a  grandniece  of  the  poet, 
John  Dryden.  Mrs.  Dyre's  grandmother  is  described 
as  "  a  woman  of  great  intellectual  endowments  and  of 
masculine  enei'gy,  to  whom  even  her  enemies  ascribed 
unusual  mental  powers,  styling  her  "  the  masterpiece 
of  woman's  wit,"  and  describing  her  as  "  a  gentlewoman 
of  an  haughty  carriage,  busy  spirit,  competent  wit,  and 
a  voluble  tongue  ;  who,  by  a  remarkable  union  of  char- 
ity, devotion  and  ability,  soon  became  the  leader  not 
only  of  her  own  sex,  but  of  a  powerful  party  in  the 
state  and  church,  so  that  her  opponents  have  termed 
her  "  The  Nonsuch."  She  went  first  to  Providence, 
and  thence  to  Aquidneck,  which  had  just  been  pur- 
chased by  the  fugitives  of  her  party,  and  where  her 


SOME    RECORDS    OF   THE    DYER    FAMILY.  37 

husband  died  in  1642.  Soon  after  this  bereavement, 
she  removed  with  her  family  to  a  spot  near  Hurl  Gate, 
within  the  Dutch  jurisdiction,  where,  in  a  short  time, 
she  and,  with  the  exception  of  one  child,  all  her  house- 
hold, sixteen  in  number,  were  murdered  by  the  Indians 
in  164:3.  Whether  her  granddaughter,  Mrs.  Samuel 
Dyre,  inherited  Mrs.  Hutchinson's  talents  and  graces, 
we  do  not  know.  Mrs.  Dyre  was  early  left  a  widow 
with  two  sons,  Samuel  and  Edward,  and  September 
22d,  1679,  at  Tower  Hill,  Xarragansett,  she  married 
Daniel  Yernon,  a  man  of  very  superior  education,  who 
spoke  several  languages,  and  was  long  a  tutor  in  the 
family  of  Lodowick  Updike,  in  Xortli  Kingstown.  She 
had  three  children  after  her  marriage  to  Mr.  Yernon — 
Daniel,  Samuel,  and  Catharine;  from  them  are  sprung 
one  of  the  most  distinguished  families  of  Newport.  A 
descendant,  William  Yernon,  was  in  familiar  corre- 
spondence with  La  Fayette,  Adams,  Yiscount  Xoailles, 
Franklin,  and  other  men  of  note  in  his  day.  He  was 
a  great  friend  of  learning,  and  was  appointed  president 
of  the  Redwood  Library  on  the  death  of  its  founder 
and  first  president ;  and  the  Second  Congregational 
Church  owed  much  to  his  liberality.  He  entered  heart 
and  soul  into  the  cause  of  freedom  during  the  Revolu- 
tion; and  it  is  said  that,  "  to  his  unflinching  devotion  to 
liberty,  personal  sacrifices,  and  extraordinary  exertions, 
America,  under  Providence,  owes  much  of  her  success 
upon  the  sea."  Ann  Dyre  Yernon  died  January  10th, 
1716,  and  her  gravestone  is  still  standing  in  the  Yernon 
lot  at  Newport,  beside  that  of  her   husband.      Her 


855^3 


38  SOME   EECORDS   OF   THE    DYER    FAMILY. 

father,  Captain  Edward  Hutchinson,  was  actively  en- 
gaged in  King  Philip's  war,  and  commanded  a  body  of 
troops.  In  his  will,  proved  in  Boston  in  1675,  he  gives 
all  his  Narragansett  lands  to  Elizabeth  Winslow,  Ann 
Dyre,  and  Susanna  Hutchinson — the  latter  afterwards 
married  Nathaniel  Coddington, 

The  name  of  Samuel  Dyre  appears  in  various  records. 

In  1661,  land  in  Narragansett,  called  Misquamokuck 
(now  Westerly),  was   taken   by   William   Dyre,   Sr., 
Samuel  Dyre,  and  Mahershalalhashbaz  Dyre,  and^arti- 
cles  of  agreement  between  an  Indian  captain  and  others 
were  signed  by  them.     William  Dyre  was  appointed  to 
transcribe  the  deeds,  testimonies,  ratifications,  etc.  At  a 
general  meeting,  February  17th,  1661-2,  William  Dyre 
was  chosen  surveyor  of  Misquamokuck.    At  the  court 
held  at  Acquedneset,  near  Wickford,  May  20th,  1671, 
the  persons  inhabiting  here  being  called  to  give  their 
eno-asement  and  desirino;  to  know  whether  or  no  the 
court,  on  behalf  of  the  colony,  do  lay  any  claim  to  their 
possessions  which   they  now  inhabit,   which   persons 
were  Mr.  Samuel  Dyre  and  others.     To  which  demand 
this  present  court  do  return  unanimously  this  answer : 
That  on  behalf  of  the  colony  this  court  do  not  lay  any 
claims   to   their  possessions  which  they  now  inhabit. 
May  21st,  1669,  Samuel  Dyer,  of  Narragansett,  was  ap- 
pointed one  of  two  conservators  of  his  Majesty's  peace 
for  the  Narragansett  country — the  other  being  Richard 
Smith.     The  latter  had,  in  1639,  established  a  trading 
post,  and  erected  the  first  English  dwelling  at  Wick- 


SOME    RECORDS    OF   THE    DYER    FAMILY.  39 

ford.  In  1656,  Mr.  Smith  leased  of  the  Indians,  for 
66  years,  all  the  land  which  now  forms  the  present 
site  of  Wickford.  A  few  years  afterwards,  he  leased 
it  again  for  a  thousand  years.  In  166(»,  he  received  a 
quitclaim  deed  of  nearly,  if  not  quite  all,  of  these 
lands.  Some  estimate  may  be  formed  of  his  extensive 
domain,  when  we  lind  that  the  tract  was  nine  miles 
long,  and  three  miles  in  width.  Roger  Williams 
named  the  place  Wickford,  in  honor  of  a  lady  guest  of 
Richard  Smith's.  Smith  bought  also  Mr.  Williams'  in- 
terest, including  "  his  trading  house,  his  two  big  guns, 
and  a  small  island  (Rabbit  Island)  for  goats." 

The  following  letter  from  Roger  Williams,  with 
reference  to  this  estate  of  Richard  Smith's,  is  so  quaint 
that  I  cannot  resist  insertinor  it, 

Nahiggonsik,  24th  July,  1679,  (ut  vulgo). 
"  1st.  I,  Roger  Williams,  of  Providence,  in  theNahig- 
gonsik  bay  in  N.  Engl.,  being  (b}'  God's  mersie)  ye  first 
beginner  of  ye  Towne  of  Providence  and  of  ye  Col- 
ony of  Rhode  Island  and  Providence  Plantations, 
being  now  neere  to  Foure  Score  years  of  age,  yet  (by 
God's  mersie)  of  sound  understanding  and  memorie, 
doe  humbly  and  faithfully  declare  yt  Mr.  Richard 
Smith,  Senior,  who,  for  his  conscience  to  God,  left  faire 
possessions  in  Gloster  Shire,  and  adventured  with  his 
Relations  and  Estate  to  N.  Engl.,  and  was  a  most  ac- 
ceptable Inhabitant  and  prime  leading  man  in  Taunton 
in  Plymouth  Colony.  For  his  conscience'  sake  (many 
differences  arising)  he  left  Taunton,  and  came  to  ye 


40  SOME    RECORDS   OF   THE    DYER   FAMILY. 

Nahiggonsik  country,  where,  by  God's  mersie  and  ye 
fave  of  ye  Nahiggonsik  sachems  he  broke  ye  Ice  (at 
his  great  Charge  and  Hazard)  and  put  up  in  ye  thickest 
of  ye  Barbarians  ye  first  English  House  amongst  them. 

"  2d.  I  liumbly  testifieyt  about  forty  years  (from  this 
date)  he  kept  Possession,  comming  and  going  himselfe, 
children  and  servants,  and  he  had  quiet  Possession  of 
his  Howsing,  Lands  and  meadow,  and  there,  in  his 
own  house,  with  much  serenity  of  soule  and  comfort,  he 
yielded  up  his  spirit  to  God,  ye  Father  of  Spirits,  in 
Peace." 

Never  a  claim  to  land  in  New  England  was  involved 
in  greater  uncertainty  than  this.  The  fight  for  its  pos- 
session lasted  long  after  Roger  Williams  had  been  placed 
in  his  grave.  All  the  surrounding  colonies  became 
gradually  involved  in  it.  Rhode  Island  came  near  be- 
ing entirely  absorbed  by  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut. 
Many  were  the  traditions  of  long-continued  wars  and 
bloody  conflicts ;  and  his  Indian  neighbors  had  to  tell 
when  Richard  Smith  settled  in  Wickford,  in  the  year 
of  our  Lord  1639. 

In  October  1674,  just  before  King  Philip's  war,  and 
a  generation  after  Richard  Smith  had  taken  up  his 
abode  within  it  borders.  Kings  Towne  was  incorporated. 
It  thus  became  the  seventh  town  in  the  colony  of 
Rhode  Island,  although,  in  point  of  fact,  it  was  proba- 
bly the  third  settlement.  In  1679,  the  incorporation 
was  reaffirmed.  In  1722  the  town  was  divided  into 
North  and  South  Kingstown,  the  act  of  legislature 
providing  that  North  Kingstown  be  considered  the 


SOME    RECORDS   OF   THE    DYER   FAMILY.  41 

elder  town.  These  towns  were  generally  known  as  the 
"Narragansett  country,"  and  their  history  is  full  of  in- 
terest and  romance.  In  South  Kingstown  occurred  the 
great  Narragansett  Swamp  Fight  between  the  English 
and  the  Indians,  which  resulted  in  the  destruction  of 
the  Narragansetts  as  a  tribe.  Commodore  Oliver  Haz- 
ard Perry,  the  hero  of  Lake  Erie,  was  born  in  South 
Kingstown. 

The  town  of  East  Greenwich  was  founded  in  May, 
1677.  Five  thousand  acres  were  granted  to  fifty  per- 
sons in  consideration  of  services  rendered  in  King 
Philip's  war,  who  thus  became  proprietors  of  the 
town,  and  founders  of  the  new  settlement  of  East 
Greenwich.  The  early  settlers  expected  great  things 
of  the  town.  The  liberality  with  which  they 
laid  out  the  streets,  shows  that  they  meant  that  it 
should  be  worthy  of  its  future  greatness.  The 
names  which  they  bestowed  upon  them.  King,  Queen, 
Marlboro',  Duke,  London,  etc.,  are  proofs  of  their 
loyalty  to  the  mother  country.  In  the  year  1709, 
the  town  purchased  a  tract  of  land  adjoining  its 
western  border,  containing  thirty-five  thousand  acres. 
The  first  Collector  was  Thomas  Arnold.  East  Green- 
wich has  the  honor  to  have  printed  the  first  calico 
in  America ;  some  time  previous  to  1794,  a  man 
named  Dawson  erected  print  works.  Jemima  Wilk- 
inson had  a  meeting-house  there  about  1774.  On  the 
31st  of  October,  1677,  one  hundred  acres  of  the  five 
thousand  were  allotted  to  Henry  Dyre.  He  had  also, 
in  1670  and   in    1680,  received    land    by    deed    from 


43  SOME   RECORDS   OF   THE    DYER   FAMILY. 

his  father,  William   Dyre,  and   his  brother   Samuel. 
Whether   Henry  Dyre  resided  on  his  land   in    East 
Greenwich  I  have  no  means  of  knowing.     He  died  in 
February,  1690,  aged  43  years.     When  I  was  in  that 
pretty  town  in  September,  1883,  I  found  but  few  old 
records  in  the  office  of  the  town  clerk,  and  most  unfort- 
unately, the  town  records  of   North  Kingstown  were 
destroyed  by  fire,  some  years  ago.     Undoubtedly  in  the 
probate  proceedings,  much  valuable  information  might 
have  been  obtained,  which  is  now  forever  lost.     It  is 
well  known,  however,  that  members  of  the  Dyre  fam- 
ily settled  on  lands  bordering  on  Narragansett  Bay. 
Beautiful  estates  they  were,  and  tradition  tells  us  of 
the  style  which  was  long  kept  up  among  them.     In 
the  days  of  slavery,  the  colored  coachman  and  footman 
in  livery,  were  by  no  means  uncommon,  and  the  land 
was  tilled  and  cultivated  by  slave  labor.     When  slav- 
ery was  done  away  with,  they  probably  took  the  plough 
in    their   own   hands,  and    could    heartily   sing   with 
Burns,  "  A  man's  a  man  for  a'  that."     At  what  time 
the   name   was  changed   from  Dyre  to  Dyer  is  not 
known.     In  a  family  cemetery  of  North  Kingston  I 
found  one  stone  only  with  the  old  spelling :   that  of 
Captain  Samuel  Dyre,  who  died  April  4th,  1791,  in 
the  34th  year  of  his  age.     Probably  the  new  spelling 
was  adopted  by  degrees.      The  name  certainly   was 
not  improved  by  the  change,  and  it  is  a  pity  that  the 
spelling  of  years,  was  not  retained. 

In    a   book   recently  published  in  England,  I   find 


SOME   KECORDS    OF   THE    DYER    FAMILY.  43 

further  notices  of  William,  Dyi'e.  It  is  entitled, 
"  Dorothea  Scott,  of  Egerton  House,  Kent,  1611  to 
1680,  by  G.  D.  Scull,  editor  of  'The  Evelyns  in 
America.'  Printed  for  private  circulation  by  Perker 
&  Co.,  Oxford,  1883."  It  is  stated  in  the  book  that 
one  John  Scott,  who  came  to  America,  had  defrauded 
Mrs.  Dorothea  Scott,  who  "  did  intrust  him  with  the 
whole  concernes  of  her  estate,  which  in  the  end  proved 
fatall  to  her."  The  Duke  of  York  commanded  Sam- 
uel Pepys,  Secretary  to  the  Admiralty,  to  collect  evi- 
dence against  Scott.  This  Samuel  Pepys  is  the  au- 
thor of  the  "  Diary  "  much  read  and  quoted.  He  had 
an  interview  with  Captain  William  Dyre  in  London, 
on  the  19th  September,  1679,  and  engaged  him  to 
collect  information  in  New  York  and  elsewhere,  con- 
cerning Scott's  antecedents  in  America.  Captain  Dyre 
wrote  to  Pepys  '*  from  on  board  y*  ship  Bevei\  in  y® 
Downes,  y^  2*^  of  8ber.,  1679,"  and  incidentally  men- 
tioned that  Mr.  Randolph  "  sends  his  service."  This 
was  Edward  Randolph,  Charles  II. 's  commissioner  to 
New  England,  who  made  eight  voyages  aci'oss  the  At- 
hintic  in  nine  years.  Thomas  Lovelace,  an  important 
witness  for  Pepys,  was  making  a  visit  to  England  in 
1680,  and  on  his  return  that  year  to  New  York,  Pepys 
gave  him  letters  of  introduction  to  Captain  Dyre  and  Sir 
Edmund  Andross.  (This  Captain  Dyre,  it  is  stated,  was 
the  husband  of  Mary  Dyre,  who  was  executed  in  1660, 
in  Boston,  for  her  professions  of  Quakerism.  It  is  also 
stated  that  the  descendants  of  William  Dyre  spelled  their 
name  Dyer.)     Samuel  Pepys  writes  to  William  Dyre  : 


44  SOME   RECORDS    OF   THE    DYER   FAMILY. 

"  September  20th,  1679. 
"  Sib  :  "Were  it  not  yt  y^  Honour  of  his  Majesties 
and  his  service  is  more  concerned  in  it  than  any  inter- 
est of  my  owne,  I  should  not  hold  it  so  excusable  in 
me  to  offer  y*  trouble  I  am  now  designing  you  ;  but 
knowing  how  acceptable  anything  is  to  you  wherein 
His  Honour  and  y**  Justice  due  to  His  Ministers  is  con- 
cerned, I  take  y^  liberty  of  putting  into  your  hands  an 
Extract  of  a  letter  relating  to  severall  parties  by  him 
therein  charged  upon  one  Captain  John  Scott.  I  am 
to  desire  y*  so  soon  as  you  shall  be  received  where  you 
are  now  going  (and  towards  w'^^  I  wish  you  a  happy 
voyage),  you  will  use  y**  speediest  and  most  effectnall 
means  you  can  of  informing  yourself e,  and  enabling  me 
to  report  to  his  Majesty,  what  evidences  you  can  col- 
lect of  y®  truth  of  y*  particulars  menc'oned  in  y^  said 
Extract,  and  of  whatever  undue  behaviours  you  shall 
(upon  inquiry  into  y*"  legend  of  Scott's  life  in  New 
England,  Long  Island,  and  parts  adjacent)  obtaine  y® 
certaine  knowledge  of.  W'''  takeing  y*"  liberty  of  re- 
commending to  you,  1  beg  you  to  favour  me  w"'  any 
commands  of  yours  wherein  I  may,  in  some  measure, 
answer  yo''  respect  to  me  in  this  particular,  assuring 
you  of  my  being,  with  all  faithfulness,  y""  most  humble 
servant,  Samuel  Pepts.'' 

The  following  letter  was  written  to  Samuel  Pepys 
by  William  Dyre,  dated  : 

New  York%  4th  January,  1680. 
"  Worthy    Sir  :  Yours   of  the  24th  Aug*,  by  Mr. 


SOME   RECORDS   OF   THE    DYER    FAMILY.  4:5 

Lovelace,  I  have  received,  for  which  great  favour  of 
correspondence  I  own  myselfe  much  obliged,  and  am 
unexpressibly  rejoiced  that  Sir  Anthony  and  yourselfe 
are  out  of  y*  pernitious  power  of  that  villain  Scott, 
whome,  doubtlesse,  the  hands  of  Justice  one  day  will 
reach  for  all  his  horrid  contrivances  and  practices  w"" 
condign  punishment.-  You  may  please  to  know 
hee  has  a  son  now  gone  from  here  to  England,  to  seek 
out  his  flfather,  hearing  that  hee  was  famous  in  y^  king- 
dome.  But  I  doubt  y*  young  man  will  be  disappointed 
in  his  expedition  ;  hee  can  certainly  informe  you  that 
his  mother  is  alive  in  y^  province,  and  yett,  as  wee 
heare,  old  Scott  had  the  Impudence  to  make  his  ad- 
dresses to  y*  Lady  Yane,  and  that  in  a  very  splendid 
manner,  and  had  not  Death  (which  some  say  hee  oc- 
casioned) put  a  period  to  her  days,  he  had  most  miser- 
ably deluded,  deceived,  and  abused  her  ladyship.  Sir, 
you  will  (by  the  occasion  of  some  like  Coll.  Scott), 
have  the  advantage  of  seeing  my  Governor,  Sir  Ed- 
mund Andross,  in  England,  who,  doubtless,  is  a  person 
of  that  great  worth  and  honour  as  not  to  have  his 
name  or  reputation  blemished  by  anything  but  what 
is  false,  envious,  and  malicious,  which  has  caused  the 
Dukes  desires  of  seeing  him  at  home  with  all  speed, 
and  soe  hath  given  his  Excellency  the  trouble  and  danger 
of  a  severe  winter's  voyage ;  but  I  hope  y*  sunshine 
of  his  happy  returne  to  us  in  the  Spring,  will  dispell  all 
those  malevolent  clouds,  and  render  the  people  of 
theis  country  (under  his  Maj"*'  and  Royal  Highness 
dominion)  as  fortunate  as  formerly  by  his  prudence 


46  SOME    RECORDS    OF   THE    DYER    FAMILY. 

and  noble  government,  the  continuance  of  which,  to- 
gether with  your  health  and  prosperity,  is  the  hearty 
desire  of  yours,  etc.  etc.,  William  Dyke." 

England  was  at  this  time  having  serious  difficulty 
with  the  Dutch,  and  it  may  have  been  that  loyalty  to 
his  native  land,  took  William  Dyre  to  England.  It 
has  been  hinted  that  he  "  did  a  little  privateering  on 
his  own  account,  and  that  privateering  theii,  was  com- 
mon with  respectable  persons."  This  charge  has 
never  been  sustained,  and  the  esteem  in  which  he 
was  held  seems  to  contradict  any  accusation  of  unfair 
or  dishonest  dealing.  In  a  letter  from  Koger  Wil- 
liams to  his  "  dear  and  loving  friends  and  neighbors, 
of  Providence  and  Warwick,"  dated  from  the  resi- 
dence of  Sir  Henry  Yane,  at  Belleau,  in  Lincolnshire, 
April  1st,  1653,  he  says  :  "  I  hope  it  may  have  pleased 
the  Most  High  Lord  of  sea  and  land,  to  bring  dear 
Mr.  Dyre  unto  you."  After  1680  we  lose  all  trace  of 
William  Dyre.  In  that  year  he  was  collector  of  cus- 
toms at  New  York  for  the  Duke  of  York.  Un- 
doubtedly the  town  records  taken  so  unceremoni- 
ously, by  the  British,  from  Newport  would  have  told 
the  tale,  now  lost  to  us  forever.  It  is  probable  that 
advanced  age  kept  him  in  America  for  the  rest  of  his 
days,  and  that  he  died  on  his  Newport  farm  in  1681. 
His  friend,  Roger  Williams,  died  in  1683,  aged  84, 
and  it  is  known  that  the  death  of  William  Dyre  oc- 
curred before  that  time.  As  they  had  been  so  closely 
and  intimately  connected  in  life,  it  is  pleasant  to  know 


SOME    RECORDS    OF   TUE    DYER   FAMILY.  47 

that  their  descendants  have  kept  up  the  friendly  tie, 
there  havinir  been  several  intermarria£;es  amonoj  them. 
Some  of  our  best  and  most  valued  citizens  are  proud 
to  claim  descent  from  these  alliances. 

It  has  been  impossible  to  trace  the  liistory  of  all  the 
children  of  William, and  Mary  Dyre ;  but  I  liave  been 
able  to  lind  tl^  most  important  laics' with  reference  to 
the  descent  of  the  branch  of  the  family  in  which  I  am 
most  interested,  and  it  is  this  : 

First.  William  and  Mary  Dyre. 

Second.  Samuel,  their  eldest  son,  baptized  in  Bos- 
ton, December  20th,  1635.  Married  Anne  Hutchin- 
son, daughter  of  Captain  Edward  Hutchinson,  grand- 
daughter of  the  celebrated  Anne  Hutchinson,  great 
granddaughter  of  the  Re  v.  Edward^Marbury,  of  Lincoln-  'y-f/,  u  if 
shire,  England,  and  grandniece  of  the  poet  John  Dryden. 

May  21st,  1669,  Samuel  Dyre  was  appointed  one  of 
two  conservators  of  his  Majesty's  peace  for  the  Narra- 
gansett  country,  and  was  long  engaged  in  promoting 
the  settlement  of  that  country. 

Third.  Edward  Dyre,  son  of  Samuel  and  Anne 
Hutchinson   Dyre,  was  born  in   1670.      He  married 

Mary .     Owned  a  farm  in  North  Kingstown, 

May  7th,  1712,  he  petitions  to  the  General  Assembly 
of  Rhode  Island  concerning  a  highway  near  his  land. 

Fourth.  Edward  Dyre,  Jr.,  son  of  Edward  and  Mary 
was  born  in  North  Kingstown,  January  6th,  1701 — lived 
in  North  Kingstown,  and  was  made  freeman.  May 
1st,  1722.  In  17-18  was  deputy  to  the  General  As- 
sembly from  North  Kingstown. 


V 


t  {     r     c    .'^?',/S<_ 


48  SOME    RECORDS   OF   THE    DYER   FAMILY. 

Fifth.  Edward  Dyre  (son  of  Edward,  Jr.)  was  born  in 
North  Kingstown  in  1725.  "Was  made  freeman  in 
May,  1T52.  Married  Elizabeth  Fish,  Nov.  29th,  1750. 
Their  children  were  "William,  Charles,  Frances,  Benja- 
min, Amherst,  Henry.,  Susannah,  Anna,  Elizabeth. 

Sixth.  Henry  Dyre  (son  of  Edward  Dyre,  3d)  was 
born  in  North  Kingstown,  July  12th,  1759.  On  tlie 
19th  of  March,  1787,  he  married  Sarah  Coy.  Soon 
after  his  marriage  he  went  to  Shaftesbury,  Vermont, 
and  there  the  following  children  were  born  :  Moses, 
Anna,  Olive,  Lydia,  Rufus,  Dennis,  David,  Daniel, 
Lewis,  Heman.  His  son  Dr.  Lewis  Dyer  speaks  thus 
of  him  :  "  My  father  was  a  modest  man.  He  was  a 
great  reader,  especially  of  history.  When  he  went  to 
school  he  walked  three  miles,  twice  a  day.  He  culti- 
vated intellectual  arithmetic  with  much  interest,  and 
in  his  old  age,  when  his  sons  were  at  home,  would 
often  reach  results  by  mental  process  in  half  the  time 
it  required  them  by  the  use  of  slate  and  pencil.  There 
was  much  of  the  '  old  school  gentleman '  about  him." 

Henry  Dyer  died  January  2d,  1855,  aged  95  years. 
Sarah  Coy  Dyer  died  July  26th,  1846,  aged  77.  Their 
last  years  were  spent  on  a  farm  delightfully  situated  in 
the  valley  between  the  Green  and  Equinox  ranges  of 
mountains,  near  the  beautiful  village  of  Manchester, 
Vermont.  In  this  secluded  home  they  reared  their 
family  of  children,  giving  them  every  educational  ad- 
vantage possible,  and  fitting  them  for  useful  citizens. 
No  iron  road  then  ran  through  that  remote  valley,  no 
shrill  whistle  echoing  through  the  mountains  gave  to 


SOME    RECORDS   OF   THE    DYER   FAMILY.  49 

those  dwellers  in  rural  homes  intimations  of  the  stir, 
the  gatherings,  the  quick  life,  the  accelerated  move- 
ments of  the  populations  of  cities.  They  were  far 
away  from  great  centres,  which  did  not,  as  they  now 
do,  report  themselves  daily — transmit  daguerreotypes  of 
their  busy,  bustling  scenes  to  the  quiet  village  and 
the  lonely  farm-house.  Children  reared  amid  such 
surroundings  must  often  have  longed  to  pass  those 
mountain  barriers,  and  as  the  family  of  Henry  Dyer 
on  "  Equinox  Farm  "  grew  up,  they  left  their  home 
on  the  hillside,  to  take  their  part  in  the  battle  of  life. 
The  farm,  however,  still  remains  in  the  family,  and  is 
now  owned  by  Douglas  Henry  Dyer,  a  grandson  of 
Henry  Dyer,  Senior.  The  two  following  sketches  are 
of  the  youngest  sons  of  Henry  and  Sarah  Coy  Dyer. 

Lewis  Dyer,  M.D.,  son  of  Henry  and  Sarah  Coy 
Dyer,  was  born  in  Shaftesbury,  Vermont,  February 
24th,  1807.  He  graduated  December,  1828,  at  the 
Berkshire  Medical  Institute,  Massachusetts,  which  was 
organized  under  the  charter  of  Williams  College. 
After  practicing  a  few  years,  at  Gloversville,  Xew 
York,  he  emigrated  westward  in  the  summer  of  1832. 
"While  visiting  his  brother.  Rev.  Heman  Dyer,  D.  D., 
then  connected  with  Kenyon  College,  Gambler,  Ohio, 
the  trustees  of  the  college  and  theological  seminary, 
offered  him  the  position  of  physician  to  these  institu- 
tions, which  he  accepted,  and  filled  for  a  few  years. 
That  field  being  too  limited  for  professional  labor,  he 
moved  to  Mount  Vernon,  in  the  same  county,  where 
4 


50  SOME    RECORDS   OF  THE   DYER   FAMILY. 

he  shared,  for  a  time,  an  office  with  the  Hon.  Cohimbus 
Delano,  late  Secretary  of  the  Interior — the  one  dis- 
pensing plijsic — the  other,  law  and  metaphysics. 
While  liere  he  edited  the  Whig  newspaper  of  the  city, 
and  was  a  member  of  the  Ohio  Whig  State  Conven- 
tion, called  to  consider  what  action  should  be  taken 
consequent  upon  the  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compro- 
mise. While  some  advocated  its  restoration,  Dr. 
Dyer  said,  "  Let  it  stand  repealed,  but  never  admit 
another  slave  State  into  the  Union,"  In  1855  he 
moved  to  Iowa,  but  the  winters  were  too  severe  for 
his  wife  and  daughter,  and,  declining  a  professorship 
in  a  medical  college  at  Keokuk,  he  sought  a  more 
genial  climate  at  Du  Quoin,  Illinois.  When  the  late 
war  broke  out  he  was  instrumental  in  sending  many 
soldiers  into  the  field  and,  at  the  personal  request  of 
Governor  Yates,  accepted  the  position  of  surgeon  to 
the  Eighty-first  Illinois  regiment,  to  which  office  this 
regiment  elected  him.  On  the  day  he  entered  the 
field  he  was  placed  upon  the  operating  staff,  where  he 
remained  for  two  years,  after  which  he  was  promoted 
to  the  office  of  surgeon-in-chief  of  division,  the 
duties  of  which  were  both  grave  and  arduous.  In 
justice  to  the  subject  of  this  notice,  an  episode  in  his 
army  life  should  here  be  noted.  Two  or  three  officers 
of  the  line,  having  become  displeased  with  the  Doctor, 
succeeded,  by  subornation  of  perjury,  in  having 
certain  charges  secretly  preferred  against  him  and 
forwarded  to  the  Secretary  of  War.  It  was  a  month, 
or  more,  before  this  conspiracy  came  to  the  Doctor's 


SOME    RECORDS   OF   THE   DYER   FAMILY.  51 

knowledge.  It  was  then  communicated  by  his  colonel, 
who  advised  him  to  resign.  This  he  indignantly  refused 
to  do;  as,  under  the  circumstances,  it  would  be  an 
admission  of  guilt  and  both  dishonorable  and  cow- 
ardly. 

He  now  repaired  to  General  Grant's  headquarters 
and,  on  learning  that  a  document  containing  certain 
charges  had  been  received  and  forwarded  to  the 
Secretary  of  War,  inquired  what  an  innocent,  honor- 
able and  determined  man  should  do,  to  vindicate  him- 
self. Whereupon  General  Grant  at  once  issued  an 
order  to  General  McPherson  to  convene  a  court  of 
inquiry,  forthwith,  to  investigate  the  matter.  Such 
a  court  was  convened,  and  the  evidence  elicited  by  it 
not  only  exculpated  the  Doctor,  but  brought  to  light 
one  of  the  foulest  conspiracies  on  record.  The  pro- 
ceedings of  the  court,  with  a  letter  from  General 
McPherson,  were  forwarded  to  the  War  Department ; 
but,  meantime,  an  order  dismissing  Dr.  Dyer  from  the 
service,  with  the  loss  of  all  pay,  was  received  and  read 
at  dress  parade.  The  Doctor  was  present,  and  re- 
marked :  ""  Gentlemen,  this  matter  will  not  end  here  !" 
Doffing  his  shoulder  straps,  and  repairing  to  General 
McPherson's  headquarters,  he  said  to  that  officer : 
"  General,  I  have  come  to  tender  my  services  to  carry 
a  musket  in  the  ranks!"  The  corps  medical  director, 
who  was  present,  interposed  by  saying,  "  If  Dr.  Dyer 
wishes  to  volunteer,  I  shall  be  verj'  glad  to  assign  him 
to  duty,  as  we  need  his  services  very  much.'"  This 
arrangement  was  entered  upon,  but  shortly  terminated 


52  SOME    RECORDS   OF   THE    DYER    FAMILY. 

bj  the  prompt  restoration  of  the  Doctor  to  his  former 
position.  He  was  regarded  by  his  associates  as  a  skill- 
ful, brave  and  noble  officer.  A  high  compliment  was 
paid  him,  when,  at  the  close  of  the  war,  the  history  of 
the  Illinois  troops  being  called  for,  by  an  act  of  the 
Legislature,  Dr.  Dyer  was  assigned  to  the  duty  of 
writing  the  history  of  his  command.  It  must  be  a 
pleasant  reflection  that,  being  himself  the  son  of  a 
Revolutionary  soldier,  who  fought  to  establish  our 
government  and  institutions,  he  and  his  two  sons, 
during  "the  great  rebellion,"  fought  to  save  them. 
Keturning  to  Du  Quoin  after  the  war,  he  resumed  his 
profession,  and  has  pursued  it  ever  since,  conscious  of 
the  confidence  and  good  will  of  the  public  and  profes- 
sion, generally.  He  has  ever  been  an  active  and  effi- 
cient member  and  once  the  president  of  the  Southern 
Illinois  Medical  Association — a  body  of  two  hundred 
physicians,  all  graduates.  In  1875,  the  office  of  United 
States  examining  surgeon  was  offered  him,  which  he 
accepted.  During  the  last  year,  the  board,  of  which 
he  is  president,  examined  over  five  hundred  pensioners. 
He  is  the  friend  of  popular  education,  and  much  of 
his  life  has  been  connected  with  educational  interests. 
In  politics  he  is  a  Republican,  but  believes  the  party 
has  been  needlessly  demoralized  by  the  unscrupulous 
conduct  of  demagogues.  He  has  delivered  numerous 
public  addresses  and  lectures  on  a  variety  of  subjects. 
On  General  Grant's  return  to  the  United  States,  after 
his  voyage  around  the  world,  and  his  visit  to  Mexico, 
Dr.  Dyer,  by  appointment  of  his  fellow  citizens,  de- 


SOME    RECORDS   OF   THE   DYER   FAMILY.  53 

livered  to  him  the  address  of  welcome,  on  his  arrival 
at  Du  Quoin.     He  commenced  as  follows  : 

"  General  Grant  :  I  need  not  say,  this  assemblage 
of  people  has  no  political  significance  whatever.  We 
are  met  to  greet  you,  and  to  welcome  you  home  to 
your  native  land. 

"  We  have  met  to  show  respect  to  the  distinguished 
general  and  the  magnanimous  conqueror ;  the  ex- 
President  of  the  United  States,  the  renowned  travel- 
ler,— and  the  illustrious  citizen.  We  have  met  to  show 
respect  to  the  private  citizen  who  has  been  honored 
above  all  other  men,  living  or  dead,  by  the  crowned 
heads  of  Europe  and  Asia;  and  who,  in  the  presence 
of  royalty  and  amid  the  blandishments  of  court 
etiquette  and  the  dazzling  splendor  of  oriental  nations, 
has  never  uttered  a  sentiment  compromising  his  per- 
sonal dignity  and  his  exalted  personal  character ;  but 
who  has  always  proved  the  faithful  and  true  exponent 
of  the  principles  and  institutions  of  his  own  glorious 
country." 

Dr.  Dyer  has  had  a  large  experience  in  presiding 
over  conventions  and  public  assemblies.  He  was 
president  of  the  large  liepublican  club  of  the  city  in 
which  he  lives,  during  the  campaigns  of  Grant,  Hayes 
and  Garfield.  The  most  notable  occasion  of  this  kind 
was  at  a  Congressional  convention  held  at  Cairo, 
Illinois,  a  year  or  two  ago,  to  nominate  a  candidate  for 
Congress,  which,  during  its  two  days'  and  two  nights' 
continuance,  threatened,  several  times,  to  break  up  in 
a  row,  and  would  have  done  so  but  for  Dr.  Dver's 


54  SOME   EECORDS    OF   THE    DYER   FAMILY. 

level  Lead  and  firm  hand.  His  life  has  always  been  a 
useful  and  active  one.  In  December,  1883,  he  writes 
to  a  friend,  "  I  shall  be,  according  to  tradition,  seventy- 
seven  years  old  next  February,  and  this  has  been  one 
of  the  busiest  years  of  my  life !" 

The  Rev.  Heman  Dyer,  D.  D.,  was  born  in  the 
town  of  Shaftesbury,  Bennington  county,  Vermont, 
9'i/o:  on  the  W^  of  September,  1810.  He  was  the  son  of 
'^  Henry  and  Sarah  Coy  Dyer.  His  father  and  all  his 
uncles  on  his  father's  side  served  in  the  war  of  the 
Revolution.  One  of  his  uncles  became  a  captain  in 
the  service. 

While  Dr.  Dyer  was  yet  a  child,  about  six  years  of 
age,  his  father  removed  to  Manchester  in  the  same 
county  and  State.  Here  he  spent  the  rest  of  his  child- 
hood and  early  youth,  attending  the  district  school 
during  the  winter  and  working  on  the  farm  in  the 
summer.  When  in  his  fifteenth  year  he  created  quite 
a  sensation  by  commencing  the  study  of  Latin,  a  thing 
unheard  of  at  that  day  in  a  district  school.  In  his  six- 
teenth or  seventeenth  year  he  was  sent  to  the  academy 
in  Arlington  in  the  same  county.  Here  he  pursued 
his  studies  preparatory  to  entering  college.  Among 
his  instructors  were  the  Rev.  Anson  B.  Hard,  the 
principal  of  the  academy,  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  Coit,  the 
rector  of  the  parish.  To  these  instructors  he  became 
strongly  attached,  and  for  them  he  ever  after  cherished 
the  sincerest  respect. 

During  this  period  Dr.  Dyer  taught  the   district 


SOME    RECORDS   OF  THE    DYER   FAMILY.  55 

school  in  two  of  the  neighborhoods  in  Arlington, 
spending  in  all  about  eight  months  in  this  occupation. 
As  he  was  much  younger  than  many  of  his  scholars,  he 
had  to  assume  an  air  of  dignity  and  importance,  which 
seemed  rather  comical  to  himself  and  his  friends.  It 
being  the  custom  for  the  school-master  and  the  school- 
mistress  to  board  round  among  all  the  families  of  the 
district,  he  thus  acquired  a  kind  of  knowledge  and  ex- 
perience, which  served  a  most  valuable  purpose  during 
the  rest  of  his  life.  While  pursuing  his  studies  in 
Arlington,  there  occurred  an  incident  which  shaped, 
very  largely,  his  whole  future  career.  It  had  been  his 
wish  and  ambition  to  enter  and  go  through  either 
Middlebury  College  or  the  University  at  Burlington, 
both  in  his  native  State,  but  one  day  at  the  academy 
there  was  put  in  his  hand,  by  some  one,  a  leaflet  en- 
titled "  The  Star  in  the  West,"  after  the  fashion  of 
Dr.  Buchanan's  "  Star  in  the  East."  This  leaflet  was 
prepared  and  sent  out  by  the  Rt.  Rev.  Philander 
Chase,  D.  D.,  the  first  bishop  of  Ohio,  and  was  a  plea 
and  appeal  in  behalf  of  education  and  Christian  missions 
in  the  West.  Bishop  Chase  was  then  engaged  in 
founding  Kenyon  College,  and  the  other  institutions  at 
Gambler.  The  appeal  so  stirred  up  the  young  student 
that  he  resolved  at  once  to  go  to  Ohio,  at  the  earliest 
day  practicable.  When  he  made  his  resolution  known  to 
his  classmates  and  others,  they  were  amazed  ;  admir- 
ing, no  doubt,  his  pluck  more  than  his  wisdom.  They 
could  not  understand  how  a  vouno;  ji  man  should  be 
willing  to  go  so  far  from  home,  and  buiy  himself  in 


56  SOME   EECOKDS   OF  THE   DYER   FAMILY. 

such  a  wilderness  as  Ohio  then  was.  Fortunately  his 
parents  did  not  oppose  the  idea,  but  rather  encouraged 
it. 

Accordingly,  at  the  close  of  his  second  engagement 
as  a  teacher,  about  the  20th  of  April,  1829,  he  left  his 
home,  and  the  East,  for  the  West.  The  West  was  then 
most  emphatically  in  Ohio.  He  made  the  journey 
from  Manchester  to  Gambier — about  the  centre  of  the 
State — entirely  by  stage,  consuming  fourteen  days  and 
nights  in  continuous  traveling.  He  reached  Gambier 
early  in  May,  a  perfect  stranger,  and  without  even  a 
note  of  introduction  from  anybody  to  anybody.  He 
commenced  his  studies  without  delay,  hoping  to  enter 
the  Freshman  class  in  Kenyon  College  at  the  beginning 
of  the  next  term,  which  he  succeeded  in  doing.  As 
student,  teacher,  tutor,  and  head  of  one  of  the  depart- 
ments of  the  institution,  he  remained  in  Gambier  ten 
years  and  a  half.  For  two  years  and  more,  he  occupied 
the  anomalous  position  of  a  student  and  also  of  a  mem- 
ber of  the  faculty.  While  in  these  double  relations,  he 
became  acquainted  with,  and  rendered  some  valuable 
services  to,  Edwin  M.  Stanton,  afterward  the  great 
War  Secretary  in  President  Lincoln's  cabinet ;  Mr. 
Stanton  never  forgot  these  services.  During  these 
ten  and  a  half  years.  Dr.  Dyer  took  his  degrees  of 
A.  B.  and  A.  M.  While  yet  a  student  he  was  elected 
as  secretary  of  the  Diocesan  Convention,  and  treasurer 
of  the  Episcopal  fund.  It  was  during  this  period  that 
the  difficulties  arose  between  Bishop  Chase  and  the 
faculty,  with  regard  to  the  administration  of  the  insti- 


SOME    RECORDS   OF   THE   DYER   FAMILY.  57 

tutions.  Tliese  difficulties  were  followed  by  the  resig- 
nation of  the  Bishop  both  as  president  of  the  college, 
and  Bishop  of  the  diocese.  Subsequently,  upon  the  elec- 
tion of  Dr.  Mcllvaine  to  succeed  Bishop  Chase,  Dr. 
Dyer  was  sent  East  to  lay  before  the  Bishop-elect  the 
official  documents  connected  with  the  election  and  such 
other  information  as  might  be  desired.  After  Bishop 
Mcllvaine  took  charge  of  the  diocese.  Dr.  Dyer  was 
ordained  by  him,  both  as  deacon  and  as  presbyter.  In 
his  many  and  varied  duties  he  was  constantly  occupied 
until  the  spring  of  184:0,  when  he  removed  to  Pitts- 
burgh, Penn.,  and  established  a  classical  school  there. 
At  the  head  of  this  school  he  continued  for  three  years 
or  more,  when  he  was  elected  to  a  professorship  in  the 
"Western  University  of  Pennsylvania.  After  serving 
for  one  year  as  professor  he  was  elected  principal  or, 
as  it  was  subsequently  called,  chancellor  of  the  institu- 
tion. About  this  time  he  received  the  degree  of  D.D. 
from  Trinity  College,  Hartford.  lie  was  then  in  the 
34:th  year  of  his  age.  In  the  great  fire  in  Pittsbui-gh 
the  University  Buildings,  with  the  library  and  ap- 
paratus, were  entirely  destroyed.  Within  a  year  new 
buildings  were  erected  and  the  institution  was  pros- 
perous, but  the  health  of  Dr.  Dyer  was  very  much 
shattered  by  his  many  cares  and  labors,  and  in  1849  he 
resigned  his  connection  with  the  University  and  re- 
moved to  Philadelphia,  where  he  had  been  invited  to 
perform  certain  duties  in  connection  with  the  Ameri- 
can Sunday  School  Union.  He  continued  in  this  con- 
nection from  February,  184:9,  to  January,  1854.     In 


58  SOME    RECORDS    OF   THE    DYER   FAMILY. 

1852  he  and  his  wife  visited  Europe,  spending  between 
six  and  seven  months. 

About  a  year  after  his  return  from  Europe,  he  was 
elected  Corresponding  Secretary  and  General  Manager 
of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Society  for  the  Promotion 
of  Evangelical  Knowledge,  commonly  called  the  Evan- 
gelical Knowledge  Society.  This  society  was  formed 
in  1847,  and  had  for  one  of  its  objects  the  meeting 
and  counteracting  of  certain  tendencies  in  the  Episco- 
pal Church,  which  had  been  largely  awakened  and 
promoted  by  the  somewhat  famous  Oxford,  or  Trac- 
tarian,  movement  in  England. 

He  accepted  the  new  position  to  which  he  had  been 
appointed,  and  removed  to  New  York  early  in  1854. 
The  duties  to  which  he  was  now  called  brought  him 
more  or  less  into  antagonism  with  many  of  the  leading 
influences  of  his  church.  He  met  the  charge  of  dis- 
loyalty brought  against  the  new  society,  by  inducing 
the  Executive  Committee  to  bring  out  the  Book  of 
Common  Prayer  in  three  or  four  different  sizes,  and 
give  it  the  widest  possible  circulation.  For  several 
years  this  society  distributed  more  prayer  books  than 
all  the  other  societies  put  together.  This  action  was  a 
practical  and  logical  answer  to  the  criticisms  which 
had  been  made. 

From  1854  to  1861,  he  was  constantly  employed  in 
his  duties  at  the  office  of  the  society  in  New  York, 
and  in  visiting  various  parts  of  the  country,  to  attend 
diocesan  conventions  and  public  meetings,  and  to  preach 
and  make  addresses  in  the  interest  of  the  society. 


SOME   RECORDS  OF  THE   DYER   FAMILY.  59 

In  1861,  M'hen  tlie  war  broke  out,  the  society  was 
actively  engaged  in  publishing  books,  tracts,  and  two 
periodicals,  the  Parish  Visitor  and  the  Standard 
Bearer.  \]\)  to  this  time  the  duties  of  editor-in-chief 
had  been  discharged,  Urst,  by  the  Rev.  John  S.  Stone, 
D.  D.,  and  afterwards  by  the  Rev.  C.  W.  Andrews, 
D.  D.,  of  Virginia.  As  the  war  interrupted  all  regu- 
lar intercouse  with  the  South,  Dr.  Dyer  was  requested 
to  act  as  editor  of  the  society's  publications  and 
periodicals;  this  added  very  largely  to  his  cares  and 
responsibilities.  In  1861  the  American  Church  Mis- 
sionary Society  was  organized,  and  Dr.  Dyer  was  ap- 
pointed Corresponding  Secretar3\  About  the  same 
time  the  New  York  branch  of  the  Christian  Commis- 
sion was  established,  and  he  became  its  local  secretary, 
the  Hon.  Nathan  Bishop  being  the  chief  secretary. 
He  was  also  made  a  director  of  the  American  Bible 
Society.  In  1862  he  was  elected  the  first  Bishop  of 
the  new  Diocese  of  Kansas,  which  office  he  declined 
to  accept.  During  the  war  he  was  appointed  on 
several  occasions  to  visit  AVashington,  with  others,  in 
behalf  of  the  work  of  the  Christian  Commission.  On 
one  occasion  he  was  taken  by  Secretary  Stanton  into  a 
cabinet  meeting  and,  on  introducing  him  to  Mr. 
Lincoln,  the  Secretary  said,  "Mr.  President,  I  wish  to 
introduce  to  you  my  old  friend,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Dyer,  of 
New  York  ;  he  was  my  friend  when  I  needed  a  friend." 
To  which  the  President,  stretching  out  his  long  arm 
and  grasping  the  Doctor's  hand,  and  shaking  it  vigor- 
ously, responded  :     "  I  am  glad  to  see  you,  sir  ;  I  am 


60  SOME   RECORDS   OF   THE   DYER   FAMILY. 

glad  to  know  any  one  who  helped  to  make  my  Secre- 
tary of  "War,  for  I  don't  know  what  /  should  have 
done  without  him,"  With  that,  Mr.  Seward,  Mr. 
Fessenden,  and  others  of  the  cabinet  clapped  their 
hands,  and  cried  "  Good,  good." 

During  one  of  his  visits  to  Washington  he  went,  in 
company  with  the  Rev.  Dr.  Butler,  to  see  the  magnifi- 
cent army  of  General  McClellan  of  some  200,000  men, 
encamped  a  few  miles  from  Washington.  Dr.  Dyer's 
only  son  was  at  this  time  a  soldier  in  this  army. 
While  dining  with  the  captain  of  the  company  to 
which  his  son  belonged,  they  were  startled  by  the 
sudden  order  for  the  regiments  to  form  and  prepare  for 
battle.  At  once  the  whole  scene  was  changed,  and 
infantry,  cavalry  and  artillery  were  in  motion ;  the 
dinner  and  all  ceremony  were  cut  short,  and  the  two 
Doctors  of  Divinity  hastened  to  their  horse  and  wagon, 
which  an  orderly  had  charge  of,  and  commenced  a 
rapid  advance  in  a  direction  quite  opposite  to  that 
towards  which  the  troops  were  moving. 

The  battle  proved  to  be  the  short  and  sharp  skir- 
mish of  Drainesville.  But  it  enabled  the  visitors  to 
see  the  great  army  in  motion,  and  marching  in  columns, 
six  or  eight  deep,  and  at  double  quick  time.  On 
another  occasion,  when  Dr.  Dyer  was  called  to  Wash- 
ington to  see  his  son  who  was  confined  in  one  of  the 
hospitals  there,  Mr.  Stanton  showed  him  much  atten- 
tion by  having  him  spend  the  whole  morning  with 
him  in  his  ofiice  at  the  War  Department,  and  the 
afternoon  with  him  and  his  family  at  their  private 


SOME    RECORDS   OF   THE    DYER   FAMILY.  61 

residence.  Before  leaving,  the  Secretary  surprised  the 
Doctor  by  giving  him,  to  take  to  his  son,  at  the  hospi- 
tal, a  captain's  commission,  and  the  copy  of  an  order 
appointing  him  to  duty,  as  soon  as  he  should  be  able 
to  leave,  in  the  commissary  department  in  New  York. 
He  also  offered  the  Doctor  an  appointment  to  an  impor- 
tant position  in  connection  with  the  chaplain  service, 
which  he  felt  bound  to  decline.  These  friendly  rela- 
tions between  the  two  parties  continued  till  the  death 
of  Mr.  Stanton. 

During  the  war  Dr.  Dyer  took  an  active  part  with 
Bishop  Alonzo  Potter  and  others,  in  establishing  and 
endowing  the  Philadelphia  Divinity  School.  For 
many  years  he  was  a  member  of  its  Board  of  Manage- 
ment. At  the  close  of  the  war,  and  at  the  request  of 
several  prominent  laymen  of  New  York,  he  visited  the 
Theological  Seminary  of  Virginia,  and  some  of  the 
government  officials  at  "Washington,  in  reference  to  the 
restoration  of  the  buildinors  and  g-rounds  of  the  institu- 
tion,  so  that  they  might  again  be  used  for  their  origi- 
nal purposes.  For  a  considerable  time  they  had  been 
occupied  as  hospitals,  and  needed  many  repairs.  At  a 
later  period  he  visited  Richmond  in  Virginia  and 
Charleston,  South  Carolina,  to  ascertain  the  condition 
of  things  in  the  South  and  the  best  methods  of  ex- 
tending needed  aid  on  the  part  of  Northern  friends. 
These  visits  resulted  in  much  pecuniary  assistance  to 
individuals  and  institutions  in  that  part  of  the  country. 

Dr.  Dyer  took  an  active  part  in  the  formation  of  the 
"  Latimer  Society,"  and  afterwards  of   the   "  Clerical 


63  SOME   RECORDS   OF  THE   DYER   FAMILY. 

Associatiou," — both  located  in  New  York,  and  estab- 
lished in  the  interests  of  evangelical  religion.  In 
these  and  many  other  associations,  he  was  incessantly 
occupied,  and  to  a  degree  that  most  seriously  impaired 
his  health. 

In  1868  it  became  evident  that  he  must  have  rest,  or 
completely  break  down.  Accordingly,  it  was  so  ar- 
ranged that  he  could  be  relieved  of  his  duties ;  and 
early  in  the  spring,  accompanied  by  his  wife  and 
daughter,  he  sailed  for  Europe,  where  he  spent  several 
months  in  England  and  Scotland  and  on  the  Con- 
tinent. On  his  return  in  October,  a  breakfast  was 
given  him  by  his  friends,  in  one  of  the  public  halls. 
In  the  autumn  of  1869  Dr.  Dyer  met  with  a  most 
serious  railroad  accident.  He  was  on  his  way  from 
Troy  to  Manchester,  Yt.  Heavy  rains  had  produced 
very  high  water  in  all  the  streams,  and  much  damage 
had  been  done  to  the  railroads.  Consequently,  the 
trains  were  running  very  irregularly.  Just  before  the' 
train  on  which  he  had  taken  passage  reached  Lansing- 
burg,  at  a  sharp  turn  of  the  road,  it  came  into  col- 
lision with  a  train  coming  from  the  north.  The  crash 
was  terrible,  and  the  cars  of  both  trains  were  piled 
on  top  of  one  another  in  a  most  indescribable  manner. 
Only  one  person  was  killed,  but  many  were  injured. 
This  occasioned  a  delay  for  several  hours.  It  was 
raining  very  heavily.  Night  came  on,  and  everything 
was  shrouded  in  darkness  and  gloom.  The  conductor 
told  the  few  passengers  in  the  car  that  he  would  take 
them  to  Hoosick  Falls,  where  they  would  find  hotel 


SOME   RECORDS   OF  THE    DYER   FAMILY.  63 

accommodations.  On  reaching  the  Hoosick  River,  it 
was  found  to  be  verj  much  swollen,  and  the'  passen- 
gers were  requested  to  leave  the  cars  and  cross  the 
bridge  on  foot,  as  it  was  not  safe  to  attempt  to  take 
the  locomotive  and  cars  across  it.  With  much  diffi- 
culty the  bridge  was  crossed,  and  at  about  9  o'clock  in 
the  evening  some  ten  or  fourteen  passengers  got  on 
the  locomotive  and  tender,  which  were  found  on  the 
other  side  of  the  river.  Dr.  Dyer  was  on  the  loco- 
motive, near  the  engineer.  After  going  about  three- 
fourths  of  a  mile  thev  came  to  a  curve  in  the  road, 
where  the  river,  now  swollen  to  a  raging  flood,  had, 
during  the  preceding  hour,  completely  swept  out  the 
foundation  of  the  road,  but  the  rails  appeared  to  be 
undisturbed.  As  soon  as  the  locomotive  came  upon 
this  spot,  both  it  and  the  tender  went  down,  instantly, 
into  the  fearful  chasm,  a  distance  of  some  thirty  or 
forty  feet.  Most  of  those  on  the  tender  jumped  off, 
and  thus  saved  themselves.  All  on  the  locomotive 
were  carried  down  into  the  raging  waters.  Several 
were  killed  instantly.  Dr.  Dyer  was  carried  down 
with  the  others ;  but,  extricating  himself  from  the  loco- 
motive, he  was  swept  away  by  the  current,  and  being 
a  good  swimmer,  he  succeeded  at  last  in  making  a 
landing  about  three  quarters  of  a  mile  down  the  river 
and  was  saved,  though  he  was  terribly  bruised.  He 
never  recovered  his  usual  health  and  strength  after 
this  accident.  The  shock  to  his  nervous  system  was 
too  great  to  pass  permanently  away. 

As  early  as  1865  Dr.  Dyer  was  appointed  a  member 


64  SOME   RiQORDS   OF   THE    DYER   FAMILY. 

of  the  Foreign  Co^j^ittee  of  the  Board  of  Missions, 
which  added  very  ^^^h  to  his  labors.  When  the 
Board  established  commissions  for  work  among  the 
freedmen  of  the  South  a^^d  the  Indians  in  our  Western 
States  and  Territories,  he  ^as  placed  upon  the  execu- 
tive committees  of  each  o±  these  bodies,  and  made 
chairman  of  that  for  the  Indian  Commission.  This 
made  it  necessary  for  him  to  carry  on  an  extensive 
correspondence,  and  to  have  frequent  personal  inter- 
course with  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  the  Com- 
missioner of  Indian  Affairs,  and  other  officials  at 
Washington..  As  the  nomination  of  Indian  agents 
for  all  the  reservations  assigned  by  the  government 
to  the  Episcopal  Church  devolved  upon  his  commit- 
tee. Dr.  Dyer  became  painfully  acquainted  with  the 
plans  and  schemes  and  wicked  devices  of  politicians, 
great  and  small,  in  carrying  out  and  accomplishing 
their  personal  and  selfish  ends  in  this  branch  of  the 
public  service.  He  often  spoke  of  the  conduct  of 
men  holding  the  highest  political,  and  even  moral, 
trusts  with  the  severest  disapprobation  and  disgust ; 
and  very  glad  was  he  when,  by  a  change  in  the  policy 
of  the  government,  as  well  as  of  the  church,  he  was 
relieved  of  this  most  unpleasant  service. 

In  1873  a  meeting  of  the  Evangelical  Alliance  took 
place  in  New  York.  As  a  member  of  one  of  the  com- 
mittees, Dr.  Dyer  took  a  deep  and  active  interest  in  the 
proceedings  of  this  body.  In  the  same  year,  what  has 
been  termed  the  "  Cummins  Movement,"  that  is,  the 
secession  of  one  Bishop  and  several  of  the  clergy  from 


SOME    RECORDS   OF   THE    DYER   FAMILY.  65 

the  Episcopal  Church,  took  place.  While  Dr.  Dyer 
sympathized  with  some  of  the  difficulties  under 
which  these  brethren  labored,  he  did  not  think  that 
secession  was  the  best  way  of  curing  the  evils  com- 
plained of.  The  whole  country  had  had  a  notable 
illustration  of  the  difficulties  and  dangers  of  secession, 
and  he  did  not  think  such  an  experiment  should  be 
tried  in  the  church.  He  took  strong  ground  in  favor 
of  fighting  the  battle  out  within  the  church,  feeling 
very  sure  that  in  the  end  all  needed  relief  would  be 
obtained,  and  that  thus,  even  the  appearance  of  schism 
would  be  avoided. 

About  the  same  time  the  movement  in  England, 
and  in  this  country,  took  place  with  regard  to  Bible 
revision.  Dr.  Dyer  took  a  lively  interest  in  this 
undertaking,  and  served  on  the  American  Finance 
Committee  for  many  years.  In  1875  he  was  appointed 
to  accompany  Bishop  Lee,  of  Delaware,  in  his  visit  to 
Mexico  to  inquire  into  the  present  condition  and 
future  promise  of  the  evangelistic  work  there  going 
on  under  the  administration  of  the  Rev.  Henry  C. 
Riley,  D.D.  In  this  expedition  he  was  accompanied 
by  his  wife  and  daughter,  and  other  friends.  About 
two  months  were  thus  occupied. 

At  the  General  Convention  of  1877,  the  old  Board 
of  Missions,  consisting  of  several  hundred  members, 
was  abolished,  and  in  its  place  a  Board  of  Managers, 
consisting,  exclusive  of  the  Bishops,  of  fifteen  clergy- 
men and  fifteen  laymen,  was  created.  To  this  Board 
the  conduct  of  our  general  church  missionary  work, 
5 


66  SOME   EECORDS   OF   THE    DYER   FAMILY. 

at  home,  and  in  foreign  countries,  was  committed.  Dr. 
Dyer  was  appointed  by  the  Convention  a  member  of 
this  Board,  and  was  assigned  for  duty  in  the  Foreign 
department. 

In  1879  he  was  elected  by  the  Convention  of  the 
Diocese  of  New  York  as  a  trustee  of  the  General 
Theological  Seminary.  This  was  a  great  surprise  to 
him,  and  many  of  his  friends.  So  pronounced  had 
been  his  views,  particularly  as  to  the  former  adminis- 
tration of  the  institution,  that  it  seemed  incredible 
the  Convention  of  New  York  should  elect  hiin  to 
such  a  post.  Some  of  his  friends  criticised  rather 
severely  his  acceptance  of  this  position.  But  his  reply 
was  that,  having  had  no  knowledge  of,  or  anything  to 
do  with  the  election,  he  felt  it  was  his  duty  to  avail 
himself  of  the  opportunity  of  doing  what  he  could  to 
make  the  Seminary  what  it  should  be — general  in  the 
spirit  of  its  administration,  as  well  as  in  its  name. 
Soon  after  his  election  he  was  made  a  member  of  the 
Standing  Committee,  and  was  appointed  on  two  special 
committees  having  charge  of  a  revision  of  the  statutes, 
as  well  as  the  constitution  of  the  institution.  To  the 
work  of  these  committees  he  gave  much  attention,  and 
had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  their  recommendations 
adopted  first  by  the  Standing  Committee,  then  by  the 
Board  of  Trustees,  and  finally  by  the  General  Conven- 
tion in  1883.  The  character  of  some  of  the  changes 
made  will  be  understood  from  the  fact  that  the  old 
Board  consisted  of  several  hundred  members,  and 
from  all  the  dioceses,  and  was  a  constantly  increasing 


SOME    RECORDS   OF   THE    DYER    FAMILY.  67 

body,  as  the  cliurch  grew.  The  new  Board,  exchisive 
of  the  bishops,  consists  of  fifty  members,  of  which 
twenty-five  are  to  be  appointed  by  certain  dioceses  to 
represent  certain  pecuniary  endowments,  and  twenty- 
five  are  to  be  appointed  triennially  by  the  General 
Convention.  Of  this  latter  numl)er  Dr.  Dyer  was 
appointed  a  member  by  the  General  Convention  of 
1883,  his  name  standing  first  on  the  list. 

His  only  motive  in  accepting  this  trust,  as  well  as 
some  others  which  had  been  committed  to  him,  was  to 
recognize  the  great  change  which  had  taken  place  in 
the  general  spirit  and  tone  of  the  different  parties  in 
the  church,  and  to  give  expression  to  that  catholicity 
for  which  he  had  labored  so  long  and  so  earnestly. 
While  his  views  of  church  polity  remained  substan- 
tially the  same  as  they  had  been  throughout  his  life, 
he  thought  it  the  part  of  wisdom  and  of  a  true  liber- 
ality, to  adapt  the  policy  of  the  church  to  the  altered 
state  of  sentiment  and  feeling  which  so  generally  pre- 
vailed. Some  there  were  who  considered  his  course 
somewhat  inconsistent,  but  he  regarded  it  as  entirely 
consistent  with  the  principles  he  had  always  advocated, 
and  as  the  only  honest  and  honorable  course  to  pursue. 

During  Dr.  Dyer's  life  in  New  York  he  performed 
a  large  amount  of  clerical  and  other  duty,  outside  of 
the  societies  with  which  he  was  more  especially  con- 
nected. Soon  after  his  removal  to  the  city  he  was 
asked  to  take  charge  of  the  Church  of  the  Incarna- 
tion, which  for  a  time  had  been  a  chapel  of  Grace 
Church.     The  rector  of  the  new  parish,  Dr,  Harwood, 


68  SOME    RECORDS   OF   THE   DYER   FAMILY. 

was   obliged   to   leave   his   charge,  and   the   city,  on 
account  of  illness.     Dr.  Dyer  supplied  the  pulpit  for 
several  months,  including  the  Lenten  and  Easter  sea- 
son.    During  this  time,  he  prepared  and  presented  to 
the  Bishop  quite  a  large  class  for  confirmation.     Im- 
mediately upon  the  close  of  his  services  at  the  Incar- 
nation, he  was  elected  an  assistant   minister  by  the 
vestry  of   St.  George's  Church.     In  this  relation  he 
continued  for  five  years.     While  the  rector,  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Tyng,  was  absent  in  Europe,  he  occupied  the  pul- 
pit for  six  months,  and  performed  more  or  less  paro- 
chial  duty.     On   several   different   occasions   he  had 
charge  of  the  pulpits  at  St.  Mark's,  the  Ascension,  the 
Nativity,   Calvary,  Mediator,  the  Anthon  Memorial; 
and  also  of  St.  Ann's  and  Christ  Church,  Brooklyn ; 
Trinity    Church,  Newark ;   and   Trinity,   of    Bergen 
Point,  IST.  J.     In  this  last-named  parish  he  performed 
many  services  during  the  period  of   its  organization, 
and  on  many  occasions  afterwards.     At  many  differ- 
ent times  he  was  put  in  charge  of  Christ  Cliurch,  Bay 
Ridge.     During  the  absence  of  the  rector,  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Aspinwall,  in  Europe,  he,  with  his  family,  occu- 
pied the  rectory,   and  he  had  entire  charge  of   the 
parish,  for  more   than    a   year.     In  all  of  the  afore- 
named churches  he  rendered  services  for  from  three 
to  nine  months  each.     For  more  than  a  year  he  held 
morning   and   afternoon    services,  and   established   a 
Sunday-school  in  the  chapel  of  the  Rutgers  Institute 
on  Fifth  Avenue,  near  Forty-second  street. 

It  was  during  the  period  of  these  services,  that  he 


SOME    RECORDS    OF   THE    DYER    FAMILY,  69 

organized  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Trinity.  On  the 
evenings  of  the  Sundays,  he  officiated  at  the  chapel  of 
the  Rutgers  Institute,  he  preached  regularly  in  a 
hall  in  West  Forty-second  street,  at  a  mission  started 
by  the  Church  of  the  Ascension.  Among  the  labor- 
ers at  the  time  in  the  mission,  were  Bishop  Whittaker, 
of  Nevada,  and  his  wife.  This  mission  grew  into  what 
became  known  as  the  "Memorial  Chapel,"  with  its 
chapel  building  and  its  settled  pastors.  He  also  per- 
formed many  services  at  another  mission  of  the 
Church  of  the  Ascension,  afterwards  called  the 
Chapel  of  the  Comforter.  He  had  charge,  at  diifer- 
ent  times,  of  the  services  at  the  Church  of  the  Medi- 
ator, the  building  for  which,  on  Lexington  Avenue, 
was  purchased  by  his  friends,  Mr.  Wolfe  and  Mrs. 
Spencer. 

Dr.  Dyer  rendered  occasional  services  in  many  other 
churches,  chapels,  and  missions.  As  a  rule,  he  offici- 
ated from  two  to  three  times  on  Sundays,  and  very 
frequently  during  the  week. 

Dr.  Dyer  was  an  active  friend  and  worker  in  behalf 
of  St.  Luke's  Hospital  from  its  commencement.  He 
was  for  many  years  on  its  Board  of  Management,  and 
was  elected  the  president  of  the  corporation,  but 
declined  to  accept  the  office,  thinking  it  ought  to  be 
held  by  a  layman.  He  was  also  much  interested  in, 
and  cooperated  with  his  revered  friend,  Dr.  Muhlen- 
berg, in  establishing  St.  Johnland.  He  gave  much 
time  and  labor,  in  organizing  ''  The  Home  for  Incur- 
ables."     For  these  three   last-named    institutions   he 


70  SOME    RECORDS   OF   THE    DYER   FAMILY. 

was     instrumental    in     raising    a    large    amount    of 
funds. 

In  1872  or  '73  he  became  a  member  of  the  Clerical 
Club,  of  which  the  Rev.  Dr.  E.  A.  Washburn  was  the 
chief  originator.  One  of  the  outgrowths  of  the  club 
was  the  Church  Congress.  Dr.  Dyer  was  active  in 
promoting  the  interests  of  both  of  tliese  associations. 
For  a  lonor  time  he  acted  as  chairman  of  the  club,  and 
presided  at  the  breakfast  given  to  Dean  Stanley,  during 
his  visit  to  this  country.  He  was  for  a  long  period 
the  chairman  of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the 
Congress,  and  its  meetings  were  held  at  his  office  in 
the  Bible  House.  The  interest  he  had  in  these  asso- 
ciations arose  largely  from  the  conviction  he  had  that 
their  influence  would  be  in  the  line  of  a  broader  and 
deeper  and,  consequently,  truer  catholicity  through- 
out our  church. 

During  Dr.  Dyer's  life  in  New  York  he  was  instru- 
mental in  raising  large  amounts  of  money  for  specific 
oljjects — objects  outside  of  missionary  and  other 
causes,  for  which  collections  are  taken  in  churches,  or 
by  any  other  systematic  methods.  From  the  books  of 
record  which  he  was  in  the  habit  of  keeping,  it  would 
appear  that  more  than  $500,000  were  received,  and  dis- 
bursed by  him,  for  charitable  purposes.  The  kind  of 
reputation  which  he  thus  acquired,  gave  him  not  a  little 
labor  and  trouble,  and  sometimes  annoyance. 

It  will  be  seen,  from  the  foregoing,  that  Dr.  Dyer 
has  led  an  exceedingly  busy  and  laborious  life,  and 
that  he  has  been  associated  with  many  leading  eharac- 


SOME    RECORDS   OF   THE    DYER    FAMILY.  71 

ters,  and  connected  with   many  societies,  both   local 
and  general. 

Several  of  the  East  Greenwich  and  North  Kings- 
town branches  of  the  Dyer  family  left  Rhode  Island 
and  went  to  Vermont.  The  fame  of  that  beautiful 
mountain  region  had  spread  all  over  New  England,  in 
the  latter  part  of  the  last,  and  early  part  of  the  pres- 
ent century,  causing  a  large  emigration  from  tlie 
different  States. 

The  following  sketches  are  of  other  descendants  of 
William  and  Mary  Dyre : 

CHARLES    VOLNEY    DYEK. 

A  Sketch  of  His  Long  and  Useful  Career,  Which  is  Closely  Inter- 
woven with  the  Early  History  of  Chicago. 

One  more  of  the  historic  men  who  helped  to  make 
Chicago,  passed  away  April  24,  1878,  in  the  death  of 
the  venerable  Dr.  Charles  Volney  Dyer,  one  of  the 
oldest  and  best  known  pioneers  of  the  city,  who  died  of 
paralysis  at  the  residence  of  his  son-in-law,  Mr.  Adolph 
Heile  (Mr.  Heile  married  a  daughter  hy  adoption)^  in 
the  town  of  Lake  View.  He  was  born  at  Clarendon, 
Vt.,  on  the  12th  of  June,  1808,  and  was,  therefore, 
rounding  up  the  full  measure  of  his  three  score  and 
ten,  at  his  demise.  His  father,  Daniel  Dyer,  was  one 
of  those  sturdy  old  Green  Mountain  men,  who  did 
right  gallant  service  in  the  days  of  the  Revolution. 
His  mother  was  Susan,  daughter  of  Gideon  and  sister 


72  SOME    RECORDS   OF  THE   DYER   FAMILY. 

of  Judge  Abraham  Olin,  a  woman  of  some  note  in  her 
time,  and  whose  character  may  be  judged  from  the 
fact  that  she  rode  on  horseback,  unattended,  a  distance 
of  over  a  thousand  miles  to  collect  silverware  and 
gold  beads  from  her  friends  for  the  purpose  of  secur- 
ing the  then  enormous  bail  of  $15,000  for  the  release 
of  one  Matthew  Lyon,  of  Kutland,  incarcerated  for 
violation  of  the  notorious  sedition  law. 

For  the  first  fifteen  years  of  his  life,  the  subject  of 
this  sketch  lived  on  his  father's  farm  at  home,  passing 
the  uneventful  days  of  a  farmer  boy,  at  work  in 
summer,  and  at  the  district  school  in  winter.  At 
this  age,  however,  he  went  to  the  Castleton  (Vt.) 
Academy,  where  he  fitted  for  the  higher  course  of 
study  which  he  subsequently  pursued.  He  entered 
college  at  Middlebury,  from  which  he  was  graduated 
with  honors,  in  the  medical  course,  in  1830. 

He  began  the  practice  of  medicine  at  Newark, 
N.  J.,  where  he  achieved  enough  local  success  to  make 
him  ambitious  for  a  broader  field  in  which  to  try  his 
talents  and  exercise  his  industry.  Like  other  aspiring 
young  men  of  his  time,  he  cast  longing  eyes  toward 
the  new  West,  and  finally  resolved  to  take  the  trip 
and  trust  his  fortunes  with  the  destinies  of  Chicago, 
where  he  arrived  in  August,  1835,  He  married  Miss 
Louisa  M.  Gifford,  of  Elgin,  in  1837,  a  lady  who 
proved  to  be  a  woman  of  most  sterling  character,  and 
whose  long  life  of  usefulnesss  has  but  recently  closed 
in  death.  The  couple  were  blessed  with  six  children, 
three  of  whom  survive — a  daughter,  wife  of  Mr.,  S, 


SOME    RECORDS    OF   THE    DYER    FAMILY.  73 

E.  Loring,  and  two  sons,  Charles,  an  artist,  now  in 
Italy,  and  Louis,  a  professor  in  the  Chicago  Univer- 
sity. 

Dr.  Dyer,  upon  his  arrival,  was  appointed  surgeon 
of  old  Fort  Dearborn,  and  from  that  tinne  his  practice 
grew  to  such  an  extent,  that  in  the  course  of  a  short 
time  he  had  means  to  invest.  With  the  infinite  faith  in 
the  future  that  has  characterized  Chicago's  pioneers, 
he  purcliased  a  large  amount  of  real  estate  then  out- 
side of  the  corporation.  Among  other  spots,  once  his 
property,  is  the  lot  now  occupied  by  the  "  First  National 
Bank  Building."  which  he  sold  to  the  government  for 
the  old  post-office,  for  the  sum  of  $46,000. 

In  1854  he  had  acquired  a  competence,  and  retired 
from  the  practice  of  his  profession,  determined  to  pass 
the  remainder  of  his  life  quietly,  in  the  care  of  his 
considerable  property. 

Dr.  Dyer  was  a  Democrat  when  he  first  came  to 
Chicago,  and  was  elected  by  the  Legislature  to  the 
office  of  Judoje  of  the  Probate  Court  of  Cook  count v, 
in  1837.  He  soon  after  became  a  leading  Abolitionist, 
and  supported  Birney  for  President  in  1840.  There 
were  then  very  few  Liberty  party  men,  as  they  were 
called,  in  Illinois  ;  but  they  had  an  "  underground 
railroad,"  and  many  of  the  passengers  called  upon  Dr. 
Dver  and  the  late  James  H.  Collins,  who  were  under- 
stood  to  be  the  proprietors,  in  passing  through  from 
the  South  to  the  land  of  freedom,  in  Canada.  While 
these  men  stopped  with  the  Doctor,  he  tried  to  make 
them  useful  by  setting  them  to  work  ;  but  he  said 


74  SOME   RECORDS   OF   THE    DYER   FAMILY. 

they  were  more  fond  of  preaching,  than  cutting  and 
splitting  wood.  Dr.  Dyer  used  to  carry  a  large  ebony, 
gold-headed  cane,  now  in  the  collection  of  the  Chicago 
Historical  Society,  which  was  presented  to  him  by  his 
admirers,  as  it  was  said,  for  enlightening  a  slave- 
catcher  after  the  manner  in  which  Minerva  was  freed 
from  the  skull  of  Jupiter.  The  Doctor  was  very 
proud  of  this  token,  which  he  regarded  as  Jacob's  staff 
for  freedom.  About  the  time  he  received  this  present, 
say  in  1846,  a  runaway  slave  was  arrested  and  taken 
before  the  late  Justice  Kercheval,  a  native  of  Ken- 
tucky, who  had  issued  a  warrant  for  his  arrest,  under 
the  old  fugitive  slave  law.  Mr.  Collins  appeard  for  the 
defence  and  moved  to  quash  the  writ,  which  was  done. 
While  new  papers  were  being  prepared  for  the  re- 
arrest of  the  slave,  Dr.  Dyer  was  left  alone  with  the 
handcuffed  slave  for  a  moment.  He  struck  off  the 
irons  and  bade  the  man  jump  for  dear  life.  In  a 
moment  the  others  returned  and,  on  their  inquiring 
for  the  slave.  Dr.  Dyer  said :  "  He  has  sunk  into  the 
bosom  of  the  community."  At  an  anti-slavery  con- 
vention, held  in  Chicago,  it  was  resolved  to  start  an 
abolition  paper  in  Washington.  Dr.  Dyer  was  made 
chairman  of  the  committee,  and  selected  Bailey  as 
editor,  with  Whittier  and  Phelps  as  assistants.  This 
was  the  beginning  of  the  National  Era. 

In  1863  President  Lincoln  appointed  him  Judge  of 
the  Mixed  Court  for  the  Suppression  of  the  African 
Slave  Trade,  an  international  tribunal,  holding  its  ses- 
sions in  Sierra  Leone.     In  consequence  of  this  very 


SOME    RECORDS   OF   THE    DYER    FAMILY.  75 

appropriate  honor,  he  spent  two  years  abroad,  when 
not  in  Africa,  traveling  quietly  with  his  family  in 
Switzerland,  Germany,  and  Italy.  He  chanced  to  be 
in  Rome  when  the  sad  news  of  the  death  of  Lincoln 
fell  upon  the  world,  and  he  was  chosen  to  make  an 
address  in  memory  of  his  dead  friend.  In  religions 
belief  the  Doctor  was  a  follower  of  Swedenbor<r,  hav- 
ing  embraced  the  tenets  of  the  Scandinavian  philoso- 
pher in  1854.  Soon  after  this,  he  and  his  wife,  in  connec- 
tion with  the  Hon.  and  Mrs.  J.  Y,  Scammon  and  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  J.  E.  Wheelei-,  founded  the  New  Jerusalem 
Society  of  this  city.  The  great  fire  of  1871,  and  the 
panic,  greatly  straitened  Dr.  Dyer's  circumstances,  and 
his  ready  pecuniary  means  were  nearly  exhausted  at 
the  time  of  his  death.  He  was  a  very  peculiar  man, 
sui  generis  in  the  fullest  sense  of  that  expression.  No 
one  who  has  ever  known  him  well,  could  ever  forget  him. 
He  loved  a  joke  so  well  that,  if  he  had  had  a  chance, 
like  Hood,  he  would  have  made  his  pun  even  to  his 
last  breath.  It  is  impossible  to  do  his  varied  charac- 
ter justice  within  the  limits  of  a  brief  notice  like  this, 
but  he  will  always  be  remembered  in  the  Northwest 
as  one  of  those  vigorous  men  who  braved  the  perils 
of  the  old  frontier  to  build  an  empire  upon  a  wilder- 
ness, and  who  held  the  most  profound  political  convic- 
tions, not  for  personal  glory,  but  that  he  might  fulfil 
the  promise  of  American  freedom,  and  raise  a  fallen 
race  to  the  fold  of  humanity. 

Charles  Gifford  Dyer,  son  of  Dr.  Charles  Volney 


76  SOME    RECORDS   OF   THE   DYER   FAMILY. 

Dyer,  was  born  in  Chicago  in  1845.  Educated  at 
Lake  Forest,  until  he  entered  the  Naval  Academy,  then 
at  Newport.  Shortly  before  finishing  his  studies  there, 
a  strong  inclination  for  painting,  and  the  urgent  desire 
of  his  family,  led  him  to  resign.  He  then  pursued  the 
study  of  art  in  Dresden  and  Munich,  but  at  the  end 
of  two  years  abandoned  it  and  returned  to  Chicago. 
After  convincing  himself  that  commerce  was  not  his 
vocation,  by  five  years  of  repugnant  labor,  he  again 
devoted  himself  to  the  study  of  painting  with  such 
persistency  as  his  health,  now  greatly  impaired  by  the 
hardships  and  disgusts  of  his  commercial  venture,  al- 
lowed. To  restore  his  health,  he  was  obliged  to  travel 
extensively  in  Italy,  Egypt,  and  the  East.  Much  of 
his  work  in  his  profession  was  done  at  Munich,  in 
1876.  He  finally  abandoned  Munich  for  a  time,  and 
studied  to  great  advantage  in  the  atelier  of  Jaquesson 
de  la  Chevreuse  at  Paris.  In  the  course  of  his  study, 
Venice  and  its  great  monuments  attracted  him,  and 
the  best  known  work  which  he  has  done  is  to  be  found 
in  America,  and  connects  itself  with  St.  Mark's,  Yen- 
ice.  A  picture  by  him,  entitled  "  A  German  Student," 
attracted  much  attention  in  the  Royal  Academy  at 
London,  and  at  Munich,  where  he  now  has  his  atelier. 
His  works  are  scattered  among  private  collections  in 
England  and  America. 

Louis  Dyer,  son  of  Dr.  Charles  Yolney  Dyer,  was 
born  in  Chicago  in  1851.  Educated  in  Chicago — at 
the  Chateau  de  Lancy,  near  Geneva,  Switzerland — at 


SOME    RECORDS   OF   THE    DYER   FAMILY.  77 

St.  Amaud-Montroud  (Cher)  France — at  the  Univer- 
sity of  Munich,  and  finally  graduated  from  Harvard 
in  1874.  After  leaving  Harvard  L.D.  he  matriculat- 
ed at  Balliol  College,  Oxford,  England,  where  he  took 
his  degree  in  July,  1878,  and  was  for  one  year  Taylor- 
ian  scholar.  In  September  of  the  same  year,  lie  was 
appointed  tutor  in  Greek,  by  the  corporation  of  Har- 
vard College,  Mass.,  and  at  the  expiration  of  the  term 
of  this  appointment  he  was  in  1881  appointed  assist- 
ant professor  of  Latin  and  Greek,  at  Harvard  College, 
where  he  now  teaches.  Professor  Dyer  not  only 
takes  high  rank  as  a  scholar,  but  is  also  a  poet  and  a 
man  of  many  accomplishments. 

Olin  Gideon  Dyer,  M.D.,  the  youngest  son  of  Gideon 
Dyer,  was  born  in  Clarendon,  Yt,,  December  5th, 
1822.  From  force  of  circumstances,  he  was  unable  to 
pursue  a  classical  course  of  study,  but  nevertheless  he 
succeeded  in  obtaining  a  good  common  school  educa- 
tion. At  an  early  age,  becoming  interested  in  the 
subject  of  medicine,  he  commenced  to  study  under  the 
guidance  and  tuition  of  the  late  Dr.  Moses  H.  Ranney, 
who  afterwards  became  distinguished  in  New  York  as 
a  specialist  in  mental  disease,  and  graduated  at  the 
Castleton  Medical  College — then  one  of  the  most 
flourishing  medical  institutions  of  the  day — with  the 
highest  honors  in  June,  1844.  He  commenced  the 
practice  of  his  profession  during  the  succeeding  year 
in  Lexington,  Ohio,  where  he  remained  but  one  year, 
when  he  returned  to  Yermont.     Li  August,  1846,  he 


78  SOME   RECORDS   OF  THE    DYER   FAMILY.- 

married  Annah  Gaines  Holt,  of  Pittsfield,  and  imme- 
diately located  in  Salisbury,  where  he  remained  in 
active  practice  for  five  years.  At  the  expiration  of  this 
time,  to  wit,  September,  1851,  at  the  earnest  solicitation 
of  the  late  Dr.  A.  G.  Dana,  he  removed  to  Brandon, 
Yt.,  to  become  his  associate  in  practice.  Owing  how- 
ever to  the  ill  health  of  Dr.  Dana,  the  partnersliip 
terminated  in  two  years,  by  his  voluntary  withdrawal, 
since  which  time,  Dr.  Dyer  has  occupied  the  field 
against  all  competitors,  with  signal  ability  and  success, 
until  the  present  time. 

At  the  close  of  the  war  he  received  the  unsolicit- 
ed appointment  of  examining  surgeon  for  pensions, 
which  ofiice  he  still  holds.  As  a  man.  Dr.  Dyer  is  held 
in  the  highest  esteem  and  is  above  reproach,  while,  as 
a  physician,  he  possesses  in  a  rare  degree  that  intuitive 
knowledge  of  disease  which  has  rendered  him  so  re- 
markably skilful  and  successful  that  he  is  regarded, 
by  all,  as  the  leading  medical  man  in  Brandon  and 
vicinity. 

The  Eev.  Palmer  Dyer,  an  estimable  Episcopal 
clergyman,  was  a  son  of  Edward  Dyer,  of  Rutland,  Yt., 
and  was  born  October  24th,  1798.  He  graduated  at 
Union  College  in  1820,  studied  theology,  and  was  ordain- 
ed deacon  by  Bishop  Brownell,  of  Connecticut.  His 
useful  life  came  to  an  untimely  end  by  drowning  in 
the  Ausable  River,  August  1st,  1844,  while  he  was  en- 
deavoring to  save  the  life  of  a  lady,  who  had  slipped 


SOME    RECORDS   OF   THE    DYER   FAMILY.  79 

on  a  narrow  bridge,  and  was  in  great  danger.     She  was 
saved,  and  her  noble  rescuer  perished.*^ 

There  are  many  descendants  of  Charles  Dyre,  the 
youngest  son  of  William  and  Mary  Dyre,  living  in 
various  parts  of  Rhode  Isand,  He  had  two  daughters 
and  five  sons :  Mary,  Eliza,  Samuel,  John,  William, 
Thomas,  and  Charles.  He  died  in  1727.  The  follow- 
ing sketches  are  of  some  of  his  descendants  : 

Benjamin  Dyer,  M.D.,  was  born  in  Cranston,  Rhode 
Island,  July  8th,  1768.  His  father  was  the  son  of 
Charles  Dyer,  Jr.,  who  married  Abigail  Williams, 
daughter  of  Thomas  Williams  and  great-granddaughter 
of  Roger  Williams.  Charles  Dyer,  1st,  of  Providence 
came  from  Dartmouth,  Bristol  county,  Massachusetts, 
and  purchased  the  farm  now  known  as  "  Cabbage  Neck," 
Cranston,  his  deed  being  dated  July  25,  1712.  He 
married  Mary  Lapham,  and  they  had  seven  children. 
The  subject  of  this  sketch  received  such  education  as 
the  schools  of  his  day  afforded,  and  at  an  early  age  en- 
tered upon  the  study  of  medicine,  under  the  direction 
of  Nathan  Truman,  who  was  then  one  of  the  prominent 
physicians  of  Providence.  Dr.  Dyer  engaged  suc- 
cessfully in  the  practice  of  medicine,  and  became  as- 
sociated with  his  brother,  Charles  Dyer,  in  the  drug 
business,  in  Providence,  in  whicb  he  continued  until 
his  death.  He  pursued  his  profession  with  great  assi- 
duity for  a  period  of  twenty  years,  and  then  relinquished 
his  professional  business,  in  order  to  devote  his  time  to 
mercantile  and  manufacturing  pursuits,  and  to  the  im- 

^     YD.  .    fP.  /  '    , 


80  SOME    RECORDS   OF   THE    DYER   FAMILY. 

provement  of  the  extensive  landed  property  belonging 
to  himself,  and  the  firm  of  which  he  was  a  partner. 
His  apothecary  business  rapidly  increased,  and  the  firm 
became  large  dealers  in  chemicals  and  dyestuffs,  from 
the  sale  of  which  a  handsome  fortune  was  realized.     In 
1816,  in  company  with  his  brother  Charles,  Benjamin 
Hoppin,   Stephen  Waterman  and   others,  he   became 
interested  in  the  purchase  and  improvement  of  lands 
on  the  west  side  of  the  river,  which  then  belonged  to 
the  Field  estate.     They  filled  in  and  laid  out  Dyer, 
Dorrance,  Eddy  and  other  streets  in  that  vicinity,  and 
built  wharves  and  store-houses,  investing  immense  sums 
of  money  in  the  enterprise,  with  great  advantage  to 
the  city,  and  serious  loss  to  themselves.     Dr.  Dyer  was 
also  one  of  the  originators  of  the  Providence  Dye- 
ing, Bleaching  and  Calendering  Company  and  of  the 
Phoenix  Iron  Foundry.     In  1824  he  built  the  Dyer 
block,  on  Broad  street.     He  also  built  the  steam-mill 
on  Eddy  Street,  now  owned  by  Amos  D.  Smith  & 
Co.     He  owned  a  large  tract  of  land  In   Cranston, 
now  Elmwood,  between  Broad  and  Greenwich  streets, 
where  he  had  a  fine  country  residence  for  a  summer 
home,  and  where  he  was  interested  in  various  agricult- 
ural enterprises.     At  one  time  he  devoted  considera- 
ble attention  to  the  raising  of  currants  for  the  manu- 
facture of  wine,  and  also  to  silk  growing  on  his  own 
premises      Some  of  his  friends  still  remember  seeing 
him  at  an  agricultural  fair,  dressed  in  a  beautiful  suit 
of  silk  made  from  products  of  his  own  culture.     His 
energy  and  enterprising  spirit,  gave  vigor  and  promised 


SOME    RECORDS   OF   THE    DYER    FAMILY.  81 

success  to  every  undertaking,  and  the  deep  interest 
which  he  continually  manifested  in  the  public  welfare, 
caused  him  to  be  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  useful 
citizens  of  his  day.     As  a  physician  he  was  skilful  and 
devoted  to  his  profession.     He  often  sacrificed  time, 
money,  and  professional  services  for  tlie  relief  of  the 
suffering  poor.     As  an  instance  of  his  benevolence,  it 
is   said   that,  during   his  professional  career,  he  was 
attending  a  poor  woman  who  was  dangerously  ill  with 
typhoid  fever,  and  seeing  that  she  could  not  recover  if 
she  remained  in  the  unwholesome  district  where  she 
lived,  he  removed  her  to  his  own  house,  and  cared  for 
her  until  her  health  was  restored.     He  was  noted  for 
his  sociability,  hospitality,  and  benevolence.     Dr.  Dyer 
was  always  one  of  the  first  to  promote  all  practical 
charities  and  public  institutions  for  good.     Being  of 
modest  and  very  retiring  disposition,  he  never  accepted 
oflicial  positions.     He  was  a  member  of  a  sect  known 
as  Sandemanians,  of  which  it  is  said  there  is  but  one 
society    in    this    country,    at    Danbury,    Connecticut. 
The  few  members  of  the  society  in  Providence  met 
with  him  and  his  family  at  his  house,  and  he  conducted 
the  religious  services.     At  his  death,  which  occurred 
May  15,  1831,  his   family  became   members   of   the 
Beneficent  Congregational  Church. 

Hon.  Elisha  Dyer,  ex-Governor  of   Rhode  Island, 

son  of  Elisha  and  Frances  (Jones)  Dyer,  was  born  in 

Providence,  Rhode  Island,  July  20,  1811.     He  is  a 

lineal  descendant  of  William  and  Mary  Dyre.     Their 

6 


82  SOME    RECORDS   OF   THE   DYER   FAMILY. 

grandson,  John,  married  Freelove  "Williams,  a  great- 
granddaughter  of  Roger  "Williams,  and  John  Dyer's 
son,  Anthony,  was  the  grandfather  of  the  subject  of 
this  sketch.  Governor  Dyer's  mother  was  a  daughter 
of  Esther  Jones,  a  great-granddaughter  of  Mary  Ber- 
non,  who  was  a  daughter  of  Gabriel  Bernon,  a  Hugue- 
not, and  a  refugee  from  La  Rochelle,  France.  Gabriel 
Bernon  was  a  merchant  of  an  ancient  and  honorable 
family  of  Rochelle,  where  he  was  born  April  6,  1644. 
Governor  Dyer  enjoyed  superior  educational  advan- 
tages. He  received  early  and  careful  training  in  pri- 
vate schools  in  Providence,  spent  a  short  time  at 
Benjamin  Greene's  boarding-school,  at  Black  Hill,  in 
Plainfield,  Connecticut,  and  was  prepared  for  college 
in  Roswell  C.  Smith's  school,  in  Providence,  from 
which  he  entered  Brown  University,  September  7, 
1825,  at  the  age  of  fourteen.  He  gradated  from  that 
institution  September  2,  1829,  and  September  1st  of 
the  same  year  entered  the  store  of  Elisha  Dyer  &  Co., 
commission  merchants.  No.  5  West  "Water  street, 
Providence,  where  he  served  in  a  clerical  capacity 
until  April  1,  1831,  when,  Mr.  Cary  Dunn  having  re- 
tired from  the  firm  to  engage  in  business  in  New 
York,  young  Dyer  became  the  junior  partner.  On 
the  8th  of  October,  1838,  he  married  Anna  Jones 
Hoppin,  daughter  of  Thomas  C.  Hoppin,  Esq.  By 
this  marriage  there  were  seven  children,  four  of  whom 
— Elisha,  Anna  Jones,  Gabriel  Bernon,  and  William 
Jones — are  now  living.  In  early  life  Governor  Dyer 
became  identified  with  various  public  interests,  and 


SOME    RECORDS   OF  THE   DYER   FAMILY.  83 

has  always  taken  an  active  part  in  promoting  useful 
enterprises  and  social  reforms.  On  the  23d  of  Sep- 
tember, 1833,  he  was  tendered  the  appointment  of 
vice-consul  of  the  two  Sicilies,  which  honor  he  de- 
clined. About  this  time  he  became  a  strong  temper- 
ance man,  and  by  earnest  persuasion  prevailed  on  his 
father  to  give  up  the  sale  of  intoxicating  liquors,  then 
a  large  and  profitable  part  of  their  business,  which 
course,  as  was  expected,  proved  very  damaging  to 
their  trade.  This  incident  illustrates  a  strono;  charac- 
teristic  of  Governor  Dyers  life.  He  is  a  man  of  high 
moral  principle,  and  has  always  been  true  to  his  con- 
victions. On  the  30th  of  September,  1835,  he  became 
a  member  of  the  Rhode  Island  Society  for  the  En- 
couragement of  Domestic  Industry,  of  which  he  sub- 
sequently served  as  secretary,  member  of  the  Auditing 
Committee,  and  president,  and  from  1859  to  1878  was 
an  honorary  member,  and  a  member  of  the  Standing 
Committee.  Perhaps  no  one  has  done  more  for  the 
success  of  this  society  than  Governor  Dyer.  He 
worked  earnestly,  both  at  home  and  abroad,  to  pro- 
mote its  usefulness.  He  visited  agricultural  colleges 
in  Europe,  and  obtained  valuable  statistics  and  infor- 
mation for  the  society  in  this  country,  while  travelling 
for  his  health.  In  1835  his  father  built  the  Dyerville 
Mill,  in  North  Providence,  and  established  the  Dyer- 
ville Manufacturing  Company,  for  the  manufacture 
of  cotton  cloth.  Mr.  Dyer  became  the  agent  of  this 
company,  in  which  position  he  served  until  the  death 
of  his  father,  in  1854,  when  he  became  the  sole  owner 


84  SOME    RECORDS   OF   THE    DYER   FAMILY. 

of  the  property,  and  continued  the  business  until  1867, 
when,  on  account  of  failing  health,  being  obliged  to 
retire  from  business,  he  sold  the  mill.  During  his 
business  career,  he  was  prominently  identified  with 
many  of  the  commercial  interests  of  the  city.  For 
many  years  he  was  a  member  and  director  of  the 
Providence  Athenaeum,  a  director  of  the  Providence 
Young  Men's  Bible  Society,  of  which  he  was  president 
in  1843,  and  was  a  member  of  the  Providence  Dis- 
pensary, being  among  the  most  generous  in  caring  for 
the  poor  and  unfortunate.  He  became  a  member  of 
the  Rhode  Island  Historical  Society  in  1837,  and  was 
one  of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  from  September  10, 
1845,  until  the  abolishment  of  the  same  in  1848.  In 
politics  Governor  Dyer  was  formerly  an  old  line 
Whig,  and  has  been  identified  with  the  Republican 
party  since  its  organization.  He  was  a  delegate  to  the 
"Whig  Convention  at  South  Kingstown,  Rhode  Island, 
October  31,  1839,  and  secretary  of  the  same;  and  a 
delegate  to  the  Whig  Jubilee  and  Festival  at  Niblo's, 
Kew  York,  in  November,  1839.  He  was  chairman 
and  first  vice-president  of  the  Young  Men's  Whig 
Convention  at  Providence,  April  2,  1840,  He  was  a 
delegate  to  the  Young  Men's  Whig  Convention  at 
Baltimore,  May  3,  1840,  of  which  he  was  chairman, 
and  at  that  time  addressed  ten  thousand  people  in 
Monument  Square,  Baltimore.  On  the  27th  of  June, 
1840,  he  was  elected  Adjutant-General  of  Rhode 
Island,  and  re-elected  for  five  successive  years,  in 
which  capacity  he  rendered  very  efficient  service,  being 


SOME   RECORDS   OF   THE   DYER   FAMILY.  85 

on  active  duty  under  Governor  Samuel  W.  King,  con- 
stantly, from  April  3d  to  July  21st,  1842,  liaving 
almost  entire  charge  of  the  plans  and  movements  of 
the  State  government  during  the  ''  Dorr  War."  He 
served  as  a  member  of  the  Providence  School  Com- 
mittee, from  January  3,  1843,  to  June  6,  1854,  when 
he  resigned.  In  1851  he  was  nominated  for  Mayor 
of  Providence  by  the  Temperance  party,  and  defeated 
by  a  small  majority. 

On  the  4th  of  April,  1853,  he  was  nominated  for 
State  Senator,  but  not  elected.  He  was  president  of 
the  Exchange  Bank  of  Providence  at  the  time  it  be- 
came a  national  bank,  and  served  as  a  director  of  the 
same  from  1837  to  1879 ;  was  elected  a  director  of  the 
Union  Bank  of  Providence,  September  2,  1845.  and 
became  a  director  of  the  Providence  and  Washington 
Insurance  Company  in  January,  1850,  but  soon  after- 
ward resigned.  He  was  second  vice-president  of  the 
Rhode  Island  Art  Association  in  1853.  In  1854  he 
became  an  annual  member  of  the  United  States  Agri- 
cultural Society,  and  in  1857  a  life  member  and  vice- 
president  of  the  same.  He  was  also  a  member  of  the 
Windham  County  (Connecticut)  Agricultural  Society. 
In  August,  1855,  he  became  a  member  of  the  Ameri- 
can Association  of  Arts  and  Sciences.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Butler  Hospital  Corporation,  and  trus- 
tee of  the  same  from  January  23,  185G,  to  June  5, 
1857,  when  he  resigned ;  was  vice-president  of  the 
Lake  Erie  Monument  Association ;  president  of  the 
Young   Men's   Christian  Association  from   May   12, 


86  SOME    RECORDS    OF   THE    DYER   FAMILY. 

1857,  to  April  12,  1858 ;  honorary  member  of  Frank- 
lin Lyceum  in  1858,  and  of  the  Providence  Association 
of  Mechanics  and  Manufacturers  in  1860.  On  the  10th 
of  March,  1853,  he  was  a  delegate  to  the  Whig  State 
Convention,  and  secretary  of  the  same,  and  at  the  same 
time  was  chairman  of  the  Eastern  District  Convention. 
In  1857  he  was  elected  Governor  of  Rhode  Island, 
and  re-elected  in  1858,  and  declined  in  favor  of  Hon. 
Thomas  G.  Turner,  in  May,  1859.  Concerning  his 
administration  as  Governor,  the  Providence  Post^  a 
leading  Democratic  paper,  which  was  opposed  to  him, 
thus  referred  to  him  on  the  7th  of  March,  1859 :  "  It 
is  proper  to  say  that  his  retirement  is  wholly  volun- 
tary. It  is  not  often  that  men  thus  voluntarily  decline 
an  honorable  office,  and  especially  when  the  office  may 
be  used  as  a  stepping-stone  to  others  of  still  greater 
value  and  importance.  .  .  .  We  have  from  the  first 
looked  upon  him  as  an  honorable,  high-minded  oppo- 
nent, and  a  straightforward,  conscientious  man ;  and 
candor  compels  us  to  say,  that  he  has  never  failed  to 
reach  the  standard  we  set  up  for  him.  His  abilities 
have  been  equal  to  his  official  duties,  and  his  integrity 
has  been  equal,  so  far  as  we  know  or  suspect,  to  every 
assault  which  the  intrigues  of  professed  friends  have 
made  upon  it.  He  retires  from  an  office  which  he  did 
not  seek,  wholly  unscathed,  and  wholly  uncontaminated 
with  the  slime  which  too  often  clings  to  men  who  dis- 
pense official  favors."  Governor  Dyer  was  made  a 
director  of  Swan  Point  Cemetery,  February  7,  1860. 
He  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Providence  Aid 


SOME    RECORDS   OF   THE    DYER   FAMILY.  87 

Society,  and  was  one  of  its  board  of  managers  from 
November  16,  1855,  to  October  1,  1859.  On  the  8tli 
of  November,  1849,  he  was  elected  an  honorary  mem- 
ber of  the  Rhode  Island  Horticultural  Society,  and  one 
of  the  Committee  on  Finance,  in  1854.  Governor 
Dyer  has  taken  a  prominent  part  in  military  matters. 
He  joined  the  First  Light  Infantry  Company,  of  Prov- 
idence, in  1838,  was  made  an  honorary  member  of 
the  Newport  Artillery  Company  in  1858,  and  an 
honorary  member  of  the  Providence  Marine  Corps  of 
Artillery  in  1859.  During  the  civil  war,  he  exhibited 
in  various  ways  his  patriotic  devotion  to  the  cause  of 
liis  country.  On  the  25th  of  September,  1861,  he  was 
chosen  captain  of  the  Tenth  Ward  Drill  Company,  of 
Providence,  and  May  26,  1862,  his  son  Elisha  having 
been  disabled  and  prevented  from  continuing  in  the 
service,  Governor  Dyer  felt  it  his  duty  to  volunteer 
himself,  and  accordingly  went  to  Washington,  and 
served  for  three  months  as  captain  of  Company  B, 
Tenth  regiment  of  Kliode  Island  Volunteers.  This 
company  was  composed  of  about  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  students  from  Brown  University  and  the 
Providence  Hidi  School.  President  Sears,  of  the 
University,  allowed  his  students  to  enlist  only  on 
condition  that  Governor  Dyer  should  go  with  them. 
He  was  a  director  of  the  Providence  and  Springfield 
Railroad,  and  has  been  among  the  first  in  projecting 
and  promoting  various  railroad  enterprises  in  the 
State.  He  was  the  originator  of  the  Providence  and 
Springfield  Railroad,  known  at  first  as  the  Woonas- 


88  SOME    RECORDS   OF   THE    DYER   FAMILY. 

quatucket  Railroad,  and  was  one  of  the  first  movers 
in  the  proposed  Ponagansett  Railroad.     He  drew  the 
charter  of  the  Narragansett  Yalle}^  Railroad,  and  was 
one  of  its  corporators.     In  1851,  he  was  a  director  of  the 
Rhode  Island  Steamboat  Company.     The  same  year 
he   served   on    a   committee   sent   to  Washington   to 
secure  the  removal  of  the  Providence  post-oflfice.     In 
1852,  he  was  elected  a  trustee  of  the  Firemen's  Asso- 
ciation, Gaspe  Company,  No.  9.     He  was  at  one  time 
one  of  the  directors  of  the  Rhode  Island  Sportsman's 
Club.     In  1863,  he  was  a  delegate  from  the  Rhode 
Island  Society  for  the  Encouragement   of   Domestic 
Industry,  to  the  International  Agricultural  Exhibition 
at  Hamburg,  in  July  of  that  year,  and  made  an  able 
report  of   the   same.     He  was  vice-president  of   the 
Rocer  Williams  Monument  Association,  and  chairman 
of  the  Executive  Committee.     On  the  24th  of  Sep- 
tember, 1869,  he  was  elected  president  of  the  First 
National  Musical  Congress,  in    Music   Hall,  Boston, 
because  of  his  musical  ability,  and  his  extensive  ac- 
quaintance in  musical  circles.     He  was  Commissioner 
for  Rhode  Island  to  the  International  Exhibition  in 
London,  in  May,  1871,  and  made  a  valuable  report  of 
the  same  to  the  General  Assembly.     On  the  20th  of 
March,  1873,  he   was   appointed  Honorary  Commis- 
sioner to  the  Vienna  Exposition  by  President  Grant, 
and  while  there,  rendered  very  important  service  to 
the  Commission,  by  reason  of   his   large   and    varied 
experience,  and   excellent  taste  and  judgment.     His 
patriotic  zeal  led  him   to   over-exert   himself   at   the 


SOME   RECORDS   OF  THE    DYER   FAMILY.  89 

Exposition,  so  mncli  to  the  injury  of  his  healtli,  that 
since  then,  he  has  been  obliged  to  retire  altogether 
from  public  life  and  from  business.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  being,  with  his 
family,  connected  with  Grace  Church,  Providence, 
On  the  8th  of  June,  1852,  he  was  a  delegate  to  the 
Diocesan  Convention.  Notwithstanding  his  active 
business  and  public  career,  Governor  Dyer  has  been 
an  invalid  for  the  last  thirty  years,  and  very  much  of 
his  work  has  been  done  under  the  burden  of  infirmitv 
and  suffering.  Eighteen  times  he  has  crossed  the 
Atlantic  in  search  of  health,  and  in  1854  visited 
Egypt.  He  has  been  in  all  the  places  of  note  on  the 
usual  routes  of  European  travel,  and,  though  travelling 
for  health,  always  had  his  eyes  open  and  note-book  in 
hand,  to  glean  whatever  of  value  or  interest  he  could 
preserve  for  others.  He  is  an  effective  speaker,  and 
has  made  a  large  number  of  public  addresses  on  politi- 
cal, educational,  musical,  and  miscellaneous  subjects. 
In  tlie  Rhode  Island  Schoolmaster^  of  November, 
1861,  he  published  a  charming  sketch  of  his  school-day 
experiences  at  "Black  Hill,"  and  in  1864,  published 
a  book,  entitled  "  A  Summer's  Travel  to  Find  a  Ger- 
man Home."  Governor  Dyer  is  a  man  who  might 
have  succeeded  in  almost  any  chosen  line  of  work  that 
he  had  selected. 

Colonel  Elisha  Dyer,  Jr.,  chemist,  son  of  Hon. 
Elisha  and  Anna  Jones  (Hoppin)  Dyer,  was  born  in 
Providence,  Rhode  Island,  November  29, 1839.    After 


90  SOME   RECORDS   OF  THE    DYER   FAMILY. 

attending  the  public  schools  of  the  city,  and  the  school 
of  Lyon  and  Frieze,  he  entered  Brown  University  in 
1856,  taking  a  partial  course.  In  1858  he  went  to 
Germany,  and  entered  the  University  of  Giessen, 
where  he  graduated  August  20,  1860,  taking  the  de- 
gree of  Doctor  of  Philosophy,  having  pursued  his 
studies  part  of  the  time  at  Freiberg,  in  Saxony.  He 
returned  home  in  the  autumn  of  1860,  and  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  civil  war  started  for  Washington, 
D.  C,  April  18,  1861,  as  fourth  sergeant  of  Captain 
Tompkins's  Battery  of  Rhode  Island  Light  Artillery, 
being  one  of  the  first  volunteers  enlisted  in  the 
State,  in  response  to  the  call  for  three  months 
men.  While  in  charge  of  unloading  the  battery  at 
Easton,  Pennsylvania,  he  received  an  injury  which 
nearly  disabled  him,  and,  persisting  in  continuing 
with  his  company,  was  overcome  by  the  heat  a  few 
days  later,  and  sent  home  by  order  of  the  surgeon. 
He  has  never  fully  recovered  from  the  shock  and 
exposure  which  he  then  experienced.  In  1862  he  was 
re-elected  lieutenant  of  the  Marine  Artillery,  one  of 
the  oldest  and  finest  military  organizations  in  the  State, 
having  held  a  position  on  its  stafi  before  his  enlistment 
for  the  war.  In  May  of  the  same  year  the  battery 
again  enlisted  for  three  months,  but  lieutenant  Dyer, 
who  had  volunteered,  was  rejected  from  service  by 
the  surgeon,  on  the  ground  of  his  previous  disability. 
Governor  Sprague  at  once  appointed  him  major,  and, 
with  Lieutenant-Colonel  George  H.  Smith,  detailed 
him  to  recruit  and  drill  men  for  the  battery,  which  he 


SOME   RECORDS  OF  THE   DYER   FAMILY.  91 

continued  to  do  for  tlie  remainder  of  tlie  year.  The 
following  year  Grovernor  James  Y.  Smith  appointed 
him  colonel  on  his  staff,  in  which  position  he  served 
for  three  years.  In  1867,  the  Marine  Artillery  Com- 
pany was  reorganized,  and  Colonel  Dyer  entered  its 
ranks  as  corporal.  In  1869  he  was  elected  lieutenant- 
colonel  commanding  the  company,  which  office  he 
resigned  after  two  years,  and  one  year  thereafter  was 
again  made  commander  for  another  term  of  two  years. 
In  1875,  under  the  new  militia  law,  all  the  artillery  of 
the  State  was  consolidated,  and  Colonel  Dver  was 
elected  to  the  command  of  the  battalion.  At  the 
same  time,  he  was  appointed  a  member  of  the  Board 
of  Examiners  of  Officers  of  the  State  Militia,  which 
position  he  held  until  1878.  In  1877  he  was  elected 
to  the  State  Senate  from  North  Kingstown,  and  during 
his  term  of  service  was  a  member  of  the  Judiciary 
Committee,  and  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Militia. 
In  1878  he  was  appointed,  by  a  convention  of  militia 
officers,  one  of  the  commission  to  report  a  new  militia 
law  to  the  General  Assembl3\  He  M'as  appointed  by 
Governor  Van  Zandt,  and  served  as  a  member  of  the 
Joint  Select  Committee  on  the  reception  of  President 
Hayes  and  cabinet,  in  1877.  He  was  also  appointed 
for  five  years  a  member  of  the  State  Board  of  Health, 
for  Washington  county,  in  1878.  In  1881  he  was 
elected  a  Representative  to  the  General  Assembly, 
from  the  Fourth  ward  of  Providence.  He  has  been 
one  of  the  directors  of  the  Union  Bank  and  of  the 
Union  Savings  Bank  of  Providence  since  1870.     For 


92  SOME   RECORDS   OF  THE   DYER   FAMILY. 

several  years  he  was  one  of  the  Finance  Committee  of 
the  Rhode  Island  Society  for  the  Encouragement  of 
Domestic  Industry.  His  chosen  profession  is  that  of 
a  chemist,  and  lie  has  been  engaged  from  time  to  time 
in  various  manufacturing  interests,  but  of  late  years 
has  been  very  busily  occupied  with  the  care  and 
management  of  the  estate  of  his  father.  He  married 
November  26,  1861,  Nancy  Anthony,  daughter  of 
William  and  Mary  B.  (Anthony)  Yiall,  of  Providence. 
They  have  three  sons — Elisha,  George  R.,  and  H. 
Anthony.  Throughout  his  life  Colonel  Dyer  has 
labored  earnestly  for  the  best  interests  of  mankind, 
and  enjoys  the  satisfaction  of  having  done  worthily 
whatever  he  has  undertaken. 


[From  the  Manchester  (England)  Examiner  and  Times,  May  9th, 

1871.] 

THE   LATE   MB.    J.    C.    DYER. 

In  our  obituary  on  Saturday,  we  announced  the 
death  of  one  whose  name,  almost  forgotten  now,  except 
as  matter  of  history,  was,  a  generation  ago,  known  as 
one  of  the  foremost  in  the  ranks  of  the  advanced  Lib- 
eral party  in  Lancashire.  Mr.  Joseph  Chessborough 
Dyer,  of  Burnage,  who  died  at  his  son's  residence  at 
Henbury,  near  Macclesfield,  on  Wednesday  last,  was 
from  1816,  when  he  settled  in  Manchester,  till  after 
the  settlement  of  the  corn-law  question,  one  of  the 
most  prominent  leaders  of  popular  movements  in  the 
district,  besides   holding   an   important   place  in  the 


SOME   RECORDS   OF   THE   DYER   FAMILY.  93 

scientific  development  of  the  cotton  industry,  which 
has  elevated  Lancashire  into  the  foremost  rank  among 
English  counties.  Mr.  Dyer's  democratic  leanings 
may  be  said  to  have  been  hereditary,  for  his  father  was 
a  leader  in  the  struggle  for  American  independence, 
and  is  said  to  have  been  one  of  the  signatories  of  the 
world-famous  documents  in  which  the  rights  of  the 
colonists  were  declared  and  asserted.  The  subject  of 
our  sketch,  however,  was  especially  proud  of  his  Eng- 
lish descent,  and  being  born  in  1780,  tliree  years  be- 
fore the  acknowledgment  by  England  of  the  independ- 
ence of  the  United  States^  although  the  place  of  his 
birth  was  Stonington,  in  Connecticut,  he  was  able  to 
claim  that  he  was  "born  an  Englishman."  Upon  this 
point,  he  was  so  interested  that  he  obtained  the  opinion 
of  counsel  (Scarletts),  which  was  distinctly  in  his  favor. 
He  received  the  usual  education  of  his  class;  and  on 
attaining  manhood,  established  himself  in  Boston,  as  a 
merchant  importing  British  goods,  and  in  that  capac- 
ity frequently  visited  England,  in  the  early  part  of 
the  century.  In  1811,  in  consequence  of  the  disturb- 
ances between  the  mother  country  and  the  States, 
Jefferson's  non-intercourse  act  was  passed,  with  the 
effect  of  ruining  the  American  trade  in  English  goods. 
Mr.  Dyer,  thereupon,  removed  at  once  to  London.  In 
1811,  he  married  Miss  Eliza  Jones,  daughter  of  Mr. 
Somersett  Jones,  of  Gower  street,  London,  and  Brand 
House,  Somersetshire,  a  nephew  of  Sir  William  Jones, 
the  well  known  Indian  scholar.  After  a  brief  resi- 
dence in  Birmingham,  where  he  projected  the  North 


94  SOME   RECORDS   OF  THE    DTER   FAMILY. 

American  Review,  and,  along  with  Mr.  Tudor,  pre- 
pared the  first  three  numbers  of  the  magazine,  he 
settled  in  Manchester,  and  in  this  town  or  its  im- 
mediate neighborhood,  he  lived  till  1864.  For  two 
years  afterwards  he  lived  with  his  son,  Mr.  F.  N. 
Dyer,  at  Whaley  Bridge,  and  since  then,  till  the  time 
of  his  death,  at  that  gentleman's  seat  at  Hen  bury.  Mr. 
Dyer,  shortly  after  his  settlement  in  Manchester,  by  the 
adaptation  of  several  useful  American  inventions,  gave  a 
great  impetus  to  the  cotton  trade,  which  was  then  rapidly 
developing  in  this  district.  Wheeler,  in  his  "  History  of 
Manchester,"  after  speaking  of  the  inventions  of  the 
mule  and  throstle  spinning,  says  :  "  Two  other  important 
inventions  have  yet  to  be  named — the  fly  frame,  intro- 
duced about  1817,  which  supersedes  the  roving  frame 
for  middle  and  lower  numbers  (of  yarns)  ;  and  the  tube 
frame,  which  roves  much  faster  than  fly,  but  only  for 
low  numbers.  Mr.  Dyer,  of  this  town,  introduced 
them  from  America,  and  in  1825  and  1829  took  out 
patents."  So  rapidly  was  the  importance  of  these  in- 
ventions recognized,  that  it  is  said  that  in  a  few  years 
nearly  1,000  improved  frames  were  in  operation  in  the 
mills  of  the  cotton  district.  Mr.  Dyer  was  the  founder 
of  one  of  the  largest  firms  of  machinists  in  Manchester. 
Mr.  Dyer  was  a  director  of  the  Bank  of  Manchester, 
in  which  he  was  a  considerable  shareholder.  By  its 
stoppage,  during  the  joint-stock  bank  panic  between 
1836  and  1842,  he  suffered  severe  pecuniary  losses. 
Even  while  engaged  in  business  pursuits,  Mr.  Dyer  was 
an  active  politician ;  but  after  his  retirement,  many  of 


SOME    RECORDS   OF   THE    DYER   FAMILY.  95 

his  best  years  were  given  up  almost  wholly  to  the  ad- 
vancement of  the  political  and  social  condition  of  the 
people.  His  public  services  embraced  a  very  wide 
range.  In  1824  he  was  one  of  the  projectors  of  the 
Royal  Institution  of  Manchester,  and  a  liberal  sub- 
scriber. He  was,  also,  about  the  same  time,  one  of 
the  first  to  subscribe  towards  the  formation  of  the 
Manchester  Mechanics'  Institute.  He  was  a  moving 
spirit  in  the  counsels  of  those  advanced  Radicals, 
through  whose  action,  chiefly,  Manchester  obtained  the 
position  of  a  borough,  returning  two  members  under 
the  reform  bill  of  1832,  and  subsequently  he  was 
equally  active  in  the  movement  for  obtaining  a  charter 
of  incorporation  for  the  city.  The  prominent  position 
which,  at  this  time,  Mr.  Dyer  held  in  Manchester  poli- 
tics may  be  judged  of  from  the  fact  that  in  1830,  along 
with  Mr.  Mark  Phillips  (subsequently  one  of  the  first 
members  for  Manchester)  and  Mr.  Alexander  Kay,  he 
was  nominated  at  a  public  meeting  in  the  Town  Hall, 
to  bear  the  congratulations  of  the  citizens  to  the  people 
of  Paris,  on  the  success  of  the  revolution  of  July.  The 
Manchester  delegates  were  received  at  the  Hotel  de 
Yille,  and  a  public  banquet  was  given  in  their  honor. 
Mr.  Dyer  was  chairman  of  the  Manchester  branch  of 
the  old  Reform  League,  and  took  a  leading  part  in  all 
the  agitations  preceding  the  passage  of  the  act  of  1832. 
The  influence  which  Mr.  Dyer  then  obtained,  was  used 
to  good  purpose  at  the  flrst  election  for  the  new-created 
borough.  Mr.  C.  Poulett  Thompson,  who  was  nomi- 
nated along  with  Mr.  Mark  Philips  as  a  Liberal  candi- 


96  SOME    RECORDS   OF  THE    DYER   FAMILY. 

date,  being  unable,  in  consequence  of  his  candidature 
for  Dover,  to  attend  personally  to  his  canvass  here,  was 
represented  by  Mr.  Dyer,  who  had  the  satisfaction  of 
returning  his  candidate.  Mr.  Dyer  was  one  of  the 
first,  and  remained  to  the  successful  close  of  its  labors, 
one  of  the  leading  members  of  the  Anti-Corn-Law 
League.  He  also  took  an  active  part  in  most  of  the 
public  measures  which  engaged  attention  from  1820  to 
1850.  Shortly  after  the  latter  date,  being  now  more 
than  TO  years  old,  he  retired,  almost  entirely,  from 
participation  in  public  business,  in  which,  however,  he 
preserved  till  the  last  a  keen  interest.  In  1818,  Mr. 
Dyer  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Manchester  Liter- 
ary and  Philosophical  Society,  of  which  he  was  for 
many  years  a  vice-president.  He  contributed  many 
papers,  which  occupy  an  honored  place  in  its  records, 
and  is  notable  as  the  only  member  who  was  ever  al- 
lowed to  address  the  society  on  a  semi-political  ques- 
tion. This  was  in  a  paper  written  during  the  height 
of  the  corn-law  agitation,  to  combat  the  notion,  founded 
on  Goldsmith's  couplet,  that  the  growth  of  large  towns 
and  the  increase  of  wealth  indicated  the  decay  of  the 
nation.  As  a  pamphleteer,  Mr.  Dyer  was,  also,  very 
prolific,  and  many  of  his  papers  on  the  political  and 
social  questions  of  his  time  were  of  more  than  passing 
value.  We  are  informed  that  he  has  left  behind  him, 
in  manuscript,  a  History  of  his  Own  Times,  a  treatise 
on  health  and  longevity,  and  an  autobiography  extend- 
ing to  the  period  of  his  marriage.  The  funeral  took 
place  on  Saturday,  and  in  accordance  with  Mr.  Dyer's 


SOME    RECORDS   OF   THE    DYER   FAMILY.  97 

express  desire,  frequently  reiterated  during  his  last 
illness,  was  strictly  private.  His  remains  were  interred 
in  Rusholme  Road  Cemetery. 

In  the  year  1632,  Thomas  Dyer,  and  his  wife,  arrived 
in  Boston,  from  Shepton  Mallett,  in  Somersetshire, 
England.  Thomas  Dyer  married  Agnes  Reed,  wlio 
was  born  in  Butley,  two  miles  from  the  beautiful 
town  of  Glastonbury,  in  Somersetshire.  Shepton 
Mallett  is  a  large  manufacturing  town ;  it  carries  on 
an  extensive  manufactory  of  knit  stockings  and  woolen 
goods.  These,  with  its  market-cross,  erected  in  1500 — 
a  curious  structure,  supported  by  columns  and  adorned 
with  sculpture — are  its  principal  attractions.  Thomas 
Dyer  was  a  cloth  manufacturer;  but  whether  he  pur- 
sued that  line  of  business  in  this  country,  I  have  not 
been  able  to  ascertain.  He  settled  in  Weymouth,  in 
Massachusetts.  His  wife  died  in  1667,  leaving  eight 
children,  five  sons  and  three  daughters.  He  was  made 
freeman  in  1644 — was  chosen  Representative  in  1646, 
— in  1650  was  appointed  deacon  of  the  church.  He 
died  in  16Y6,  leaving  a  "  good  estate."  From  him  are 
descended  very  many  of  the  name  in  this  country,  but  it 
is  not  known  that  there  was  any  relationship  between 
him  and  William  Dyre.  Prominent  among  his  de- 
scendants, is  Colonel  Eliphalet  Dyer  of  Wyndham, 
Connecticut,  who  was  the  great-grandson  of  Thomas 
Dyer.  He  was  born  September  14th,  1721,  and  mar- 
ried Huldah  Bowen,  daughter  of  Colonel  Jabez  Bowen. 
of  Providence,  Rhode  Island.  He  commenced  the 
7 


98  SOME   RECORDS    OF  THE    DYER   FAMILY. 

practice  of  law  when  nineteen  years  of  age,  and  gradu- 
ated at  Yale  College  in  1740,  where  in  1787  he  was  made 
LL.D.  ;  from  1745  to  1762  he  was  representative  to 
the  General  Court.  He  commanded  a  Connecticut 
regiment  during  the  French  war — was  elected  a  mem- 
ber of  the  council  in  1762  and  a  delegate  to  the  Stamp 
Act  Congress  in  1765 — went  to  England,  in  1763,  as 
agent  of  the  Susquehanna  Company,  and  was  also  a 
delegate  to  Congress  in  1774,  and,  excepting  1779,  held 
during  the  war,  a  seat  in  that  body.  He  had  much  to 
do  with  framing  the  constitution  of  the  United  States. 
He  was  appointed  a  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  in 
1765,  and  from  1789  to  1793  was  chief  justice.  He  died 
in  May,  1807.  His  daughter  Amelia  married  Colonel 
Joseph  Trumbull,  oldest  son  of  Governor  Trumbull. 
The  following  ludicrous  story  is  often  alluded  to : 

"  Rome  had  her  geese  and  Pomfret  her  wolf,  but 
Windham  had  her  frogs.  Here  on  the  historic  green, 
in  sight  of  the  pond  where  it  occui-red,  the  episode  of 
the  frogs  assumes  a  very  different  aspect  from  that 
given  it  by  the  Rev.  Hugh  Peters  in  his  humorous 
'  History  of  Connecticut.'  It  was  on  the  night  of  June 
17,  1754,  that  the  gruesome,  grotesque  circumstance 
occurred.  The  green  was  as  fresh  and  vivid  in  coloring, 
the  elms  arched  as  gracefully,  the  stream  from  the 
pond  broke  over  its  barriers,  and  flowed  away  under 
the  rustic  bridge  as  murinuringly  then,  as  now,  but  in 
the  minds  of  the  people  there  was  sad  foreboding,  and 
expectation  of  the  momentary  outbreak  of  a  savage  foe. 
It  was  the  eve  of  one  of  the  bloodiest  of  the  French 


SOME    KECORDS   OF  THE   DYER   FAMILY.  99 

and  Indian  wars.  Windliam  county  had  special 
reason  for  fearing  vengeance,  since,  in  acquiring  some 
parts  of  her  recent  Susquehanna  purchase,  the  Indians 
were  known  to  have  been  aggrieved  iind  wronged. 
Goodman  White's  negro  slave.  Pomp,  was  the  first  to 
experience  the  terrors  of  the  night.  Having  lingered 
until  a  late  hour  beside  a  dusky  Pliyllis,  in  one  of  the 
outlying  farmhouses,  he  at  length  started  to  return  to  the 
village,  a  Youdoo  charm  about  his  neck,  and  a  horse- 
shoe in  his  hand,  as  a  protection  against  spooks.  Tlie 
night  was  still,  misty,  and  intensely  dark.  Pomp 
went  his  way  whistling,  his  fears  equally  divided  be- 
tween the  insubstantial  ghost,  and  the  more  material 
Mohawk.  He  had  reached  the  green,  when  all  at  once 
a  dire  uproar  burst  upon  him.  Koar,  bellow,  gabble, 
shriek,  splash,  gurgle  were  combined,  and  the  sounds 
came  from  everywhere  at  once — above,  below,  on  this- 
side  and  that,  from  field,  and  pond,  and  forest.  To  say 
that  Pomp  fled,  and  shrieked,  and  prayed,  conveys  no 
idea  of  the  celerity  of  his  flight,  nor  the  intensity  of  his 
groans  and  supplications.  But  before  he  could  reach 
the  centre  of  the  green,  chamber  windows  were  thrown 
open,  nightcapped  heads  were  thrust  forth,  and  femi- 
nine shrieks,  and  the  strong  cries  of  men  added  to  the 
uproar :  many  swooned  ;  the  stronger  fled  as  they  were 
to  the  village  green,  where  they  huddled  in  a  little 
group,  every  eye  upturned  to  see  through  the  murky 
gloom  the  glory  of  the  opening  heavens,  and  the  awful 
visage  of  the  descending  Judge.  In  that  company,  not 
one  but  believed  that  the  last  great  day  was  at  hand. 


100  SOME    RECORDS    OF   THE    DYER    FAMILY. 

But  the  levin-stroke  of  judgment  failed  to  come,  and 
soon  the  thought  came  to  the  stronger  minds,  that  the 
uproar  was  of  terrestrial  origin,  and  attributable  to  savage 
foes.  Peering  into  the  darkness,  and  shrinking  from 
the  possible  deadl}^  tomahawk,  they  waited  and 
watched.  At  length  they  heard,  amid  the  general 
babel,  distinct  articulations  which  gradually  resolved 
themselves  into  the  names  of  two  of  Windham's  most 
prominent  citizens — Colonel  Dyer,  the  agent,  and 
Squire  Elderkin,  one  of  the  trustees  of  the  Susque- 
hanna Company.  '  We'll  have  Colonel  Dyer !  We'll 
have  Colonel  Dyer !  We'll  have  Colonel  Dyer ! '  the 
mysterious  voices  declared ;  and  '  Elderkin  too ! ' 
'  Elderkin  too  ! '  '  Elderkin  too  ! '  an  equally  mysterious 
chorus  repeated ;  not  a  person  but  trembled  for  the 
fate  of  those  two  strong  pillars  of  the  commonwealth. 
The  words  '  Tete,'  '  Tete,'  which  followed,  were  con- 
strued as  meaning  that  the  investing  force  was  dis- 
posed to  treat,  but  as  nothing  could  be  done  in  the 
darkness,  the  affrighted  people  contented  themselves 
with  placing  a  line  of  sentries  around  the  town,  and 
then  withdrew  to  their  homes.  In  the  morning  no 
savage  army  appeared,  nor  was  any  cause  of  the  strange 
voices  of  the  night  discoverable,  and  the  occurrence 
would,  no  doubt,  have  been  added  to  the  long  list  of 
supernatural  events  detailed  in  Cotton  Mather's 
Wonder-Book,  had  not  Pomp,  watering  his  master's 
horses  at  the  pond  next  morning,  discovered  multitudes 
of  frogs  lying  dead,  and  blackened  in  the  water.  Then 
it  came  as  a  revelation  to  the  people  of  Windham,  that 


SOME   RECORDS   OF  THE    DYER   FAMILY.  101 

an  army  of  frogs,  smitten  with  some  deadly  epidemic, 
or,  perhaps  attacked  by  some  invading  army,  had  pro- 
duced the  afiirighting  sounds.  The  revulsion  of  feel- 
ing, it  is  said,  was  great ;  the  whole  village  assumed  a 
sheepish  air.  Somehow,  too,  the  story  got  abroad,  and 
brought  a  ripple  of  laughter  to  the  face  of  the  whole 
county.  Everybody  was  disposed  to  regard  the  ex- 
perience of  that  terrible  night  as  a  rich  joke.  Gibes, 
puns,  lampoons,  ditties,  proverbs  were  rained  on  the 
unfortunate  Windhamites.  Even  the  clergymen  poked 
fun,  as  the  following  letter  from  the  Rev.  Mr.  Stiles, 
of  Woodstock,  to  his  nephew,  abundantly  shows.  It 
is  dated  at  Woodstock,  July  9,  1754,  and  proceeds : 

'• '  If  the  late  tragical  tidings  from  Windham  deserve 
credit,  as  doubtless  they  do,  it  will  then  concern  the 
gentlemen  of  your  Jurispritian  order  to  be  fortified 
against  the  croaks  of  Tauranean  legions — legions  terri- 
ble as  the  very  wreck  of  matter  and  the  crash  of 
worlds.  Antiquity  relates  that  the  elephant  fears  the 
mouse  ;  a  herd  trembles  at  the  crowing  of  a  cock ;  but 
pray  whence  is  it  that  the  croaking  of  a  bull-frog 
should  so  Belthazzarize  a  lawver  ?  How  Dyerful  the 
alarm  made  by  these  audacious  long-winded  croakers ! 
I  hope,  sir,  from  the  Dyerful  reports  from  the  frog- 
pond  you  will  gain  some  instruction,  as  well  as  from 
the  reports  of  my  Lord  Coke.' " 

Even  the  aid  of  the  Muses  was  invoked  on  this  oc- 
casion, and  a  poem  thirty  verses  long  was  written  to 
describe  the 

"  Fright  -which  happen'd  one  night, 
Caused  by  the  bull-frog  nation." 


102  SOME   RECOKDS    OF   THE    DYER   FAMILY. 

The  following  are  two  of  the  verses 

"  Lawyer  Lucifer  called  up  his  crew, — 
Dyer  and  Elderkin,  you  must  come  too; 
Old  Col.  Dyer,  you  know  well  enough, 
He  had  an  old  negro,  his  name  was  Cuflf. 

"  'Now,  Massa,'  says  Cuflf,  '  I'm  now  glad  enough 
For  what  little  comfort  I  have ; 
I  make  it,  no  doubt,  my  time  is  just  out, 
No  longer  shall  I  be  a  slave.'  " 


The  five  following  articles  are  of  interest  to  all 
bearing  the  name  of  Dyer.  Much  of  the  information 
contained  in  them  is  taken  from  Alexander  Chalmers' 
Biographical  Dictionary — London  1813. 

Sir  James  Dyer,  Dier,  or  Dyre,  an  eminent  Eng- 
lish lawyer,  was  descended  from  an  ancient  and  hon- 
orable family  in  Somersetshire,  of  the  same  family 
with  Sir  Edward  Dyer,  the  poet,  who  was  fourth  in 
descent  from  Sir  James  Dver's  o-reat-grandfather. 
Sir  James  was  the  second  son  of  Richard  Dyer,  Esq., 
of  Wincalton  and  Round  Hill,  in  Somersetshire,  at 
the  latter  of  which  places  he  was  born  about  the  year 
1512.  Wood  says  he  was  a  commoner  of  Broadgate 
Hall  (now  Pembroke  College),  Oxford,  and  that  he 
left  it  without  taking  a  degree,  probably  about  1530, 
when    he  went    to  the   Middle    Temple.     Here   he 


SOME    RECORDS    OF   THE    DYER   FAMILY.  103 

appears  to  have  rendered  himself  eonspieuoiis  for 
learning  and  talents,  as  in  1552  he  performed  the 
office  of  autumnal  reader  to  that  society — a  distinction 
which  was  at  tliat  time  conferred  only  upon  such  as 
were  eminent  in  their  profession.  He  had,  on  May 
lOtli  preceding,  been  called  to  the  degree  of  serjeant- 
at-law,  and  in  the  following  November  his  abilities 
wei'e  rewarded  with  the  post  of  King's  Serjeant.  On 
the  meeting  of  the  last  Parliament  of  Edward  YI., 
1552-3,  Dyer  was  chosen  Speaker  of  the  House  of 
Commons,  (that  office  being  considered  in  those  days 
as  peculiarly  appropriate  to  lawyers  of  eminence,) 
and  in  this  capacity,  on  Saturday  afternoon,  March  4, 
made  "an  ornate  oration  before  the  King:."  This  is 
the  only  particular  concerning  this  short  Parliament, 
which  sat  only  for  one  month,  and  the  dissolution  of 
which  was  quickly  followed  by  the  death  of  that 
excellent  young  Prince,  whose  successor,  though  in 
most  respects  she  pursued  measures  totally  opposite  to 
those  of  his  reign,  continued  the  royal  favor  to  Dj-er, 
whom,  October  19,  1553,  she  appointed  one  of  her 
Serjeants.  In  this  office  his  name  appears  as  one  of 
the  commissioners  on  the  singular  trial  of  Sir  Nicholas 
Throckmorton,  when  his  jury,  with  a  freedom  rarely 
exercised  in  that  unhappy  period,  ventured  to  acquit 
the  prisoner.  Sir  James's  behavior  on  that  occasion 
was  not  disgraced  by  any  servile  compliances  with  the 
views  of  the  court ;  yet  his  regard  for  his  own  char- 
acter was  tempered  with  so  much  discretion  as  not 
to  occasion  an}'  diminution  of   her  Majesty's  protec- 


104  SOME   EECORDS   OF   THE   DYER   FAMILY. 

tion,  for  on  May  20,  1557,  being  at  that  time  Re- 
corder of  Cambridge  and  a  knight,  he  was  appointed 
a  judge  of  the  Common  Pleas,  whence,  on  April  23d 
of  the  next  year,  he  was  promoted  to  the  Queen's 
Bench,  where  he  sat  (though  of  the  Reformed  religion) 
during  the  remainder  of  this  reign  as  a  puisne  Judge. 
In  the  first  year  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  on  November 
18,  1559,  he  returned  to  the  Common  Pleas,  of  which 
he  was  appointed  in  the  following  January  chief 
justice — an  office  the  functions  of  which  he  con- 
tinued to  exercise  for  more  than  twenty  years,  with 
eminent  integrity,  firmness,  and  ability.  In  the  course 
of  this  long  period,  we  find  him  assisting  at  the  trial 
of  Thomas  Howard,  Duke  of  Norfolk ;  on  which 
occasion  he  opposed  that  unfortunate  nobleman's 
petition  to  have  a  counsel  assigned  him,  and  with 
propriety,  as  the  rigorous  complexion  of  the  law  was 
at  that  time — it  having  been  reserved  for  the  milder 
spirit  of  a  later  age,  to  indulge  prisoners  in  his  un- 
happy situation  with  that  privilege.  In  1574  he 
exhibited  a  singular  proof  of  probity,  courage  and 
talents,  in  the  spirit  with  wliich  he  opposed  the 
attempt  of  Sir  John  Conway  to  oppress  a  poor  widow 
of  Warwickshire,  (that  county  being  included  in  the 
circuit  which  he  usually  went,)  by  forcibly  keeping 
possession  of  her  farm ;  and  in  his  reply  to  the  articles 
preferred  against  him  to  the  Privy  Council,  by  certain 
justices  of  the  peace,  whom  he  had  severely  repre- 
hended in  public,  at  the  assizes,  for  partiality  and 
negligence  in  permitting  so  gross  a  violation  of  the 


SOME   RECORDS   OF   THE    DYER   FAMILY.  105 

law,  and  whom  he  had  caused  to  be  indicted  for  the 
same.  What  was  the  end  of  the  dispute  his  biog- 
rapher has  not  been  able  to  discover,  but  thinks  it 
reasonable  to  conclude  that  the  firmness  and  ability  of 
Dyer  prevailed  over  the  malice  of  his  adversaries,  as 
he  experienced  no  diminution  of  the  Queen's  favor, 
but  continued  in  the  full  exercise  of  his  judicial  func- 
tions, without  any  other  memorable  transaction  that  is 
known,  down  to  his  death,  which  happened  at  his  seat 
of  Great  Stoughton  (an  estate  purchased  by  himself), 
in  the  county  of  Huntingdon,  March  24,  15S2,  at  the 
age  of  seventy.  Leaving  no  issue  by  his  wife  Mar- 
garet, daughter  of  Sir  Maurice  a  Barrow,  of  Hamp- 
shire, a  relict  of  the  celebrated  philologist,  Sir  Thomas 
Elyot,  his  estates  at  Stoughton  and  elsewhere,  with 
his  mansion-house  at  Charter  House  Church-yard, 
descended  to  Sir  Richard  Dyer,  grandson  of  his  elder 
brother,  John.  His  will  commences  thus  :  "  In  the 
name  of  the  Father,  the  Sonne,  and  the  Holy  Ghost, 
Amen.  I,  James  Dyer,  knight,  chief  justice  of  the 
Common  Pleas,  considering  with  myself  the  incer- 
tentye  of  this  vaine  and  transitorye  life,  and  the  sud- 
daine  callinge  awaie  of  us  from  the  same,  by  deathe, 
and  for  the  avoidinge  of  discorde  and  strife,  that  com- 
monlie  I  see  to  ensue  after  the  deathe  of  such  as  die 
intestate,  about  the  trashe  and  pelfrye  of  this  wicked 
worlde,  being  of  perfect  healthe  and  memorye  (God 
be  thanked),  doe  ordeyne  and  make  this  writinge 
withe  myne  owne  hande,  this  my  last  will  and  testa- 
ment, in  manner  and  forme  followinge." 


106  SOME    RECOKDS   OF   THE    DYER    FAMILY. 

He  was  buried  at  Stonghton ;  in  the  venerable 
church  of  which  place  is  a  handsome  monument 
erected  to  his  memory,  with  the  following  inscrip- 
tions : 

Here  lieth  Sir  James  Deyer,  Knight,  sometimes  Lord  Chief 
Justice  of  the  Common  Pleas — and  Dame  Margaret,  his  wife  : 
which  Dame  Margaret  was  here  interr'd  the  six  and  twentieth 
day  of  August,  1560,  and  the  said  Sir  James,  upon  the  five  and 
twentieth  of  March,  1582. 

Deyero  tumulum  quid  statuis,  Nepos  ? 

Qui  vivit  volitaque  ora  per  omnium, 

Exegit  monumenta  ipse  perennia  : 

In  queis  spirat  adhuc  :  spirat  in  his  themis 

Libertas,  Pietas,  Munificentia. 

En  decreta,  libros,  vitam,  obitum,  senis! 

Eternas  statuas!  Vivat  in  his  themis 

Libertas,  Pietas,  Munificentia. 

Eternas  statuas  lias  statuit  sibi  : 

Eteruis  statuis  credite  marmora! 

Patruo  majori  charissimo,  ejusque 

Conjugi  amantissimse  posuit  Miles. 

RiCHARDus  Deyer. 

I  am  indebted  to  Professor  Louis  Dyer,  of  Harvard 
University,  Cambridge,  Mass.,  for  a  metrical  transla- 
tion of  the  Latin  epitaph,  which  contains  the  spirit  and 
significance  of  the  original,  admirably  reproduced  : 

A  tomb  for  Dyer,  thine  uncle,  wherefore  raise  ? 
"Who  lives,  and  quickened  in  the  words  men  use 
Hath  linked  his  memory  to  undying  praise; 
While  speech  is  speech  his  life  he  cannot  lose, 
Whose  righteousness  must  always  be  proclaimed 
When  Largess,  Freedom,  Piety  are  named. 


SOME    RECORDS   OF   THE    DYER    FAMILY.  107 

If  thou  his  lasting  monument  wouldst  see, 

His  thoughts,  his  deeds,  his  life  and  death  revere — 

And  bid  thy  soul  remember  it  is  he 

When  Justice,  Freedom,  Piety  appear  ; 

These  he  his  deathless  counterparts  hath  made, 

Not  here,  in  marble  mimicry,  portrayed. 

Unto  his  very  dear  great  Uncle,  and  that  Uncle's  very  loving 
■wife,  the  present  Knight  hath  raised  this  tomb. 

RiCHAKD  Dyer. 

Sir  James  Dyer  was  the  author  of  a  large  book  of 
Reports,  which  were  published  after  his  decease,  and 
have  been  highly  esteemed  for  their  succinctness  and 
solidity.  They  were  first  printed  in  1585,  and  have 
gone  through  many  editions.  That  of  1688  is  en- 
riched by  the  marginal  notes  and  references  of  Lord 
Chief  Justice  Treby,  and  bears  the  following  title, 
literally  translated  from  the  French  :  "  Reports  of 
several  select  matters  and  resolutions  of  the  reverend 
Judges  and  Sages  of  the  Law,  &c."  That  eminent 
lawyer.  Sir  Edward  Coke,  recommends  to  all  students 
in  the  law  these  Reports,  which  he  calls  "  the  sum- 
mary and  fruitful  observations  of  that  famous  and 
most  reverend  Judge  and  Sage  of  the  Law,  Sir  James 
Dyer."  They  are,  indeed,  a  valuable  treasure  to  the 
profession.  The  best  edition  is  that  by  John  Yaillant, 
Esq.,  1794,  3  vols.,  8vo,  with  the  life  of  the  author 
from  an  original  manuscript  in  the  Inner  Temple 
Library.  It  is  entitled  "  Reports  of  cases  in  the 
reigns  of  Henry  VIII.,  Edward  VI.,  Queen  Mary  and 
Queen  Elizabeth.     Taken  and  collected  by  Sir  James 


108  SOME    RECORDS   OF  THE    DYER   FAMILY. 

Dver,  Knio-lit — some  time  Justice  of  the  Common 
Pleas."  On  tlie  Inner  Temple  manuscripts  of  Law 
Reports,  he  signs  his  name  James  Dier.  He  left 
behind  him,  also,  "  A  Reading  upon  the  Statute  of  32 
Henry  YIII.,  cap.  1,  of  Wills  ;  and  upon  the  34th  and 
35th  Henry  YIII.,  cap.  5,  for  the  explanation  of  the 
Statute,"  printed  at  London  in  1648,  4to.  By  his 
will  he  bequeathed  to  his  nephew,  Richard  Farwell, 
one  of  the  editors  of  the  "  Reports,"  all  his  books  of 
the  law,  "  as  well  abridgments  and  reports  of  myne 
owne  handwritinge,  as  other  of  the  lawe,"  which 
expression  seems  to  countenance  the  assertion  of  Cole, 
that  he  made  an  "  Abridgment  of  the  Law,"  but,  as 
nothinor  of  the  kind  has  been  discovered,  it  seems 
more  reasonable  to  conclude  that  he  wrote  nothing 
except  these  "  Reports,"  and  the  "  Reading  "  above 
mentioned.  By  these  performances,  and  by  the 
services  he  did  his  country,  he  came  fully  up  to  the 
character  which  Camden  has  given  him,  of  being 
ever  distinguished  by  an  equal  and  calm  disposition, 
which  rendered  him  in  all  cases  a  most  upright  judge, 
— as  his  penetration  and  learning  made  him  a  fit 
interpreter  of  the  laws  of  his  country.  Not  long 
after  his  death  a  book  was  published,  entitled  "A 
Remembrance  of  the  Precious  Yertues  of  the  Right 
Honourable  and  Reverend  Judge,  Sir  James  Dier, 
Knight,  Lord  Cheefe  Justice  of  the  Common  Pleas, 
who  diseased  at  Great  Stawghton,  in  Huntingdonshire, 
the  24th  of  Marche,  Anno  1582.  The  reporte  of 
George  Whetstone,  Gent.     Imprinted  at  London  by 


SOME   RECORDS   OF  THE   DYER   FAMILY.  100 

John    Cliarlewood,  4to.      Dedicated    to    Sir   Thomas 
Bromley,  Lord  Chancellor." 

Collinson,  in  his  "  History  of  Somersetshire,"  says  : 
"The  manor  and  borough  of  Wincanton  (formerly 
Wincaleton,  from  the  River  Cale,  which  rises  near) 
has  several  hamlets  on  the  outskirts.  One  is  Barrow 
Common.  Lands  in  the  last-mentioned  hamlet  be- 
longed to  the  priorj'  of  Taunton  ;  after  the  dissolution 
of  which,  these  lands,  with  the  manor  of  Round  Hill 
and  the  rectory  of  Wincanton,  were  sold  to  William 
Lord  Stourton,  whose  son,  Charles  Lord  Stourton, 
being  attainted,  the  said  lands  came  again  to  the 
Crown,  and  were  sold  in  1557,  at  thirty  years'  pur- 
chase, to  John  DierT  This  was,  undoubtedly,  the 
elder  brother  of  Sir  James  Dier. 

Yaillant,  in  alluding  to  the  various  ways  of  spell- 
ing the  name,  says  that  "  even  at  a  much  later  period, 
orthography  was  very  little  attended  to.  The  disputes 
between  the  commentators  on  Shakspeare,  about  our 
great  poet's  mode  of  writing  his  own  name,  are  well 
known.  It  is  not  probable  that  Sir  James  Dyer's 
name  was  ever  spelled  Deyer,  except  upon  his  monu- 
ment, where  it  was  necessary,  for  the  proper  pronun- 
ciation of  the  Latin,  to  introduce  an  additional  e. 

One  very  important  labor  of  Sir  James  Dyer  was 
the  union  of  Wales  with  England,  by  the  abolition  of 
the  feudal  jurisdiction  of  the  eldest  son  of  the  King, 
under  whose  rule,  fearful  oppression  was  committed 
on  the  commonalty.  Sir  James  rendered  himself  so 
beloved  in  Wales,  by  the  accomplishment  of  the  union, 


110  SOME    RECOKDS   OF  THE   DYER   FAMILY. 

that,  even  to  this  day,  "  The  Goat  and  Eose,"  hi& 
crest,  is  a  common  inn  sign  all  over  the  principality. 
The  portrait  of  Sir  James  Dyer  is  to  be  seen  in  the 
picture  gallery  of  Chirk  Castle,  Denbighshire,  near 
the  beautiful  vale  of  Llangollen,  North  "Wales. 


Sir  Edward  Dyer,  a  poet  of  the  Elizabethan  age, 
was  of  the  same  family  with  those  of  his  name  in 
Somersetshire,  and  was  born,  probably,  about  1540. 
He  was  educated  at  Oxford,  either  in  Balliol  College 
or  Broadgate  Hall,  where  he  discovered  a  propensity 
to  poetry  and  polite  literature,  but  left  it  without  a 
degree,  and  travelled  abroad.  On  his  return,  having 
the  character  of  a  well  bred  man,  he  was  taken  into 
the  service  of  the  court.  He  now  obtained  consider- 
able celebrity  as  a  poet,  and  was  a  contributor 
to  the  "  Paradyce  of  Dainty  Devyses"  and  "  En- 
gland's Helicon."  He  wrote  "  The  Prayse  of 
Nothing.  Imprinted  in  London  in  Fleete  -  streate, 
beneath  the  Conduite,  at  the  signe  of  St.  John 
the  Evangelist,  by  H.  Jackson,  1585.  4to,  black 
letter  15  leaves."  Queen  Elizabeth  had  a  great 
respect  for  his  abilities,  and  employed  him  in 
several  embassies,  particularly  to  Denmark  in  1589  ; 
and  on  his  return  from  thence  conferred  on  him  the 
Chancellorship  of  the  Garter,  on  the  death  of  Sir  John 
"Wolley,  1596,  and  at  the  same  time  she  knighted  him  ; 
but,  like  other  courtiers,  he  occasionally  suffered  by 
her  caprices.     He  was,  at  one  time,  reconciled  to  her, 


SOME    RECORDS   OF   THE    DYER    FAMILY.  Ill 

by  her  Majesty's  being  taught  to  believe  tliat  he  was 
sinking  to  the  grave,  under  the  weight  of  her  dis- 
pleasure. Sir  Edward  partook  of  the  credulity  of  the 
times,  studied  chemistry,  and  was  thought  to  be  a 
Kosicrucian.  He  was,  at  least,  a  dupe  to  the  famous 
astrologers,  Dr.  Dee  and  Edward  Kelly,  of  whom  he 
has  recorded  that  in  Bohemia  he  saw  them  put  base 
metal  in  a  crucible,  and  after  it  was  set  on  fire,  and 
stirred  with  a  stick  of  wood,  it  came  forth,  in  great 
proportion,  pure  gold.  He  wrote  pastoral  odes  and 
madrigals,  some  of  which  are  in  "  England's  Helicon," 
first  published  at  the  close  of  Queen  Elizabeth's  reign, 
and  lately  republished  in  the  "  Bibliographer.''  He 
wrote,  also,  a  "Description  of  Friendship,"  a  poem  in 
the  Ashmolean  Museum,  where,  also,  from  Aubrey's 
manuscript,  we  learn  that  he  spent  an  estate  of  £4,000 
a  year.  There  is  a  letter  of  his  to  Sir  Christopher 
Hatton,  dated  October  9,  1572,  in  the  Plarleiun  MS., 
and  another  to  the  Earl  of  Leicester,  dated  Mav  22, 
1586,  in  the  Cottonian  Collection,  and  some  of  his 
unpublished  verses  are  in  a  MS.  collection  formerly 
belonging  to  Dr.  Rawlinson,  now  in  the  Bodleian 
Library.  There  are  two  sonnets  of  Sir  Edward 
Dyer's  at  the  end  of  Sydney's  ''  Arcadia,"  1598, 
which  are  signed  C.  D.  At  the  funeral  of  Sir  Philip 
Sydney,  he  was  one  of  the  pall-bearers. 

Sir  Edward  was  an  intimate  friend  of  Sir  Martin 
Frobisher,  the  celebrated  English  navigator ;  and  with 
him,  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  and  another  naval  captain, 
carried  the  canopy  over  Queen  Elizabeth,  when    she 


112  SOME    RECORDS   OF   THE   DYER   FAMILY. 

went  to  St.  Paul's,  to  return  thanks  for  the  defeat  of 
the  Invincible  Armada. 


John  Dyer,  an  English  poet,  was  born  in  1700,  the 
second  son  of  Robert  Dyer,  of  Aberglasney,  in  Caer- 
marthenshire,  a  solicitor  of  great  capacity  and  note.  He 
passed  through  Westminster  school,  under  the  care  of 
Dr.  Freind,  and  was  then  called  home,  to  be  instructed 
in  his  father's  profession.  His  genius,  however,  led 
him  a  different  way,  for,  besides  his  early  taste  for  po- 
etry, having  a  passion  no  less  strong  for  the  arts  of 
design,  he  determined  to  make  painting  his  profession. 
"With  this  view,  having  studied  awhile  under  his  master, 
he  became,  as  he  tells  his  friend,  an  itinerant  painter, 
and  wandered  about  South  Wales,  and  the  parts  adja- 
cent, and  about  1727  printed  "  Grongar  Hill,"  a  poem 
which  Dr.  Johnson  says  "  is  not  verj'  accurately  writ- 
ten ;  but  the  scenes  which  it  displays  are  so  pleasing, 
the  images  which  they  raise,  so  welcome  to  the  mind, 
and  the  reflections  of  the  writer  so  consonant  to  the 
general  sense  or  experience  of  mankind,  that  when  it 
is  once  read,  it  will  be  read  again."  Being  probably 
unsatisfied  with  his  own  proficiency,  he  made  the  tour 
of  Italy,  where,  besides  the  usual  study  of  the  remains 
of  antiquity  and  the  works  of  the  great  masters,  he  fre- 
quently spent  whole  days  in  the  country  about  Rome 
and  Florence,  sketching  those  picturesque  prospects, 
with  facility,  and  spirit.  Images  from  hence  naturally 
transferred  themselves  into  his  poetical  compositions ; 


SOME   RECORDS   OF  THE   DYER  FAillLY.  113 

the  pi-incijDiil  beauties  of  the  "  Ruins  of  Rome"  are, 
perhaps,  of  this  kind,  and  the  various  landscapes  in  the 
"Fleece,"  have  been  particularly  admired.  On  his  re- 
turn to  England  in  1740,  he  published  the  "  Ruins  of 
Rome,"  but  soon  found  that  he  could  not  relish  a  town 
life,  nor  submit  to  the  assiduity  required  in  his  profes- 
sion. His  talent,  indeed,  was  rather  for  sketching  than 
finishing,  so  he  contentedly  sat  down  in  the  country 
with  his  little  fortune,  painting  now  and  then  a  por- 
trait or  a  landscape,  as  his  fancy  led  hira.  As  his  turn 
of  mind  was  rather  serious,  and  his  conduct  and  be- 
havior always  irreproachable,  he  was  advised  by  his 
friends  to  enter  into  orders ;  and  it  is  presumed,  though 
his  education  had  not  been  regular,  that  he  found  no 
difficulty  in  obtaining  them.  He  was  ordained  by  the 
Bishop  of  Lincoln,  and  had  a  law  degree  conferred 
upon  him.  About  the  same  time  he  married  a  lady  of 
Coleshill,  named  Ensor,  "whose  grandmother,"  says 
he,  "  was  a  Shakspeare,  descended  from  a  brother  of 
everybody's  Shakspeare."  His  ecclesiastical  provision 
was  a  long  time  but  slender.  His  first  patron,  Mr. 
Harper,  gave  him,  in  1741,  Calthorp,  in  Leicestershire, 
of  £80  a  year,  on  which  he  lived  ten  years,  and  in 
April,  1757,  exchanged  it  for  Belchford,  in  Lincoln- 
shire, of  £75,  which  was  given  him  by  Lord  Chancellor 
Hardwick,  on  the  recommendation  of  a  friend  to  virtue 
and  the  muses,  Daniel  Wray,  Esq.,  one  of  the  deputy 
tellers  of  the  Exchequer,  and  a  curator  of  the  British 
Museum.  For  this  gentleman  Mr.  Dyer  seems  to  have 
entertained  the  sincerest  regard.  Mr.  Dyer  calls  "  good 
8 


114  SOME   RECORDS   OF   THE   DYER   FAMILY. 

Mr.  Edwards,"  author  of  the  "  Canons  of  Criticism," 
his  particular  friend,  and  in  Savage's  poems  are  two 
epistles  to  Dyer ;  one  of  them  in  answer  to  the  beauti- 
ful little  poem  which  begins  : 

"Have  my  friends  in  the  town,  in  the  gay  busy  town, 
Forgot  such  a  man  as  John  Dyer?" 

His  condition  now  began  to  mend.  In  the  year 
1752  Sir  John  Heathcote  gave  him  Coningsby,  of  £140 
a  year,  and  in  1Y56,  when  he  was  LL.B.,  without  any 
solicitation  of  his  own,  obtained  for  him,  from  the  Chan- 
cellor, Kirkby-on-Bane,  of  £110.  "  I  was  glad  of  this," 
says  Mr.  Dyer  in  1756,  "  on  account  of  its  nearness  to  me, 
though  I  think  myself  a  loser  by  the  exchange  through 
the  expense  of  the  seal,  dispensations,  journeys,  etc.,  and 
the  charge  of  an  old  house,  half  of  which  I  am  going  to 
pull  down."  The  house,  which  is  a  very  good  one,  OM'es 
much  of  its  improvement  to  Mr.  Dyer.  His  study,  a 
little  room  with  white  walls,  ascended  by  two  steps, 
had  a  handsome  window  to  the  church-yard,  M'hich  he 
stopped  up,  and  opened  a  less,  that  gave  him  a  full  view 
of  the  fine  church  and  castle  at  Gateshall,  about  a  mile 
off,  and  of  the  road  leading  to  it.  He  also  improved 
the  garden.  In  May,  1757,  he  was  employed  in  rebuild- 
ing a  large  barn,  which  a  late  wind  had  blown  down, 
and  gathering  materials  for  rebuilding  above  half  the 
parsonage  house  at  Kirby.  "  These,"  he  says,  "  some 
years  ago,  I  should  have  called  trifles,  but  the  evil  days 
are  come,  and  the  lightest  thing,  even  the  grasshopper, 
is  a  burden  upon  the  shoulders  of  the  old  and  sickly." 


SOME    KECORDS    OF   THE    DYER   FAMILY.  115 

He  had  then  just  published  "  The  Fleece,"  his  greatest 
poetical  work,  of  which  Dr.  Johnson  relates  this  ludi- 
crous story  :  "  Dodsley,  the  bookseller,  was  one  day  men- 
tioning it  to  a  critical  visitor,  with  more  expectation  of 
success,  than  the  other  could  easily  admit.  In  the  con- 
versation the  author's  age  was  asked,  and  being  repre- 
sented as  advanced  in  life, '  he  will,'  said  the  critic, '  be 
buried  in  woollen.'"  He  did  not,  indeed,  long  outlive 
that  publication,  nor  long  enjoy  the  increase  of  his 
preferments,  for,  a  consumptive  disorder,  with  which 
he  had  long  struggled,  carried  him  oflE  at  length,  July 
24,  1758. 

Mr.  Gough,  who  visited  Coningsby,  September  5, 
1782,  could  find  no  memorial  to  him  in  the  church. 
Mrs.  Dyer,  on  her  husband's  decease,  retired  to  her 
friends  in  Caermarthenshire.  In  1756  they  had  four 
children  living — three  girls  and  a  boy.  Of  these,  Sa- 
rah died  single.  The  son,  a  youth  of  the  most  amiable 
disposition,  heir  to  his  father's  truly  classical  taste  and 
to  his  uncle's  estate  of  £300  or  £400  a  year  in  Suffolk, 
devoted  the  principal  part  of  his  time  to  travelling, 
and  died  in  London,  as  he  was  preparing  to  set  out 
on  a  tour  to  Italy  in  April,  1782,  at  the  age  of  32. 
This  young  gentleman's  fortune  was  divided  between 
two  surviving  sisters — one  of  them  married  to  Alder- 
man Hewitt,  of  Coventry  ;  the  other,  Elizabeth,  to  the 
Rev.  John  Gaunt,  of  Birmingham.  Mr.  Dyer  had  some 
brothers,  all  of  whom  were  dead  in  1756,  except  one, 
who  was  a  clergyman — yeoman  of  his  Majesty's  almon- 
ry— lived  at  Marylebone,  and  had  then,  a  numerous 


116  SOME    RECORDS   OF   THE    DYER   FAMILY. 

family.  Mr.  Dyer's  character  as  a  writer  has  been  fixed 
by  three  poems :  "  Grongar  Hill,"  "  The  Ruins  of 
Rome,"  and  "  The  Fleece,"  in  which  a  poetical  imagi- 
nation perfectly  original,  a  natural  simplicity  con- 
nected with  the  true  sublime  and  often  productive  of 
it,  the  warmest  sentiments  of  benevolence  and  virtue, 
have  been  universally  observed  and  admired.  These 
pieces  were  published  separately  in  his  lifetime,  but, 
after  his  death,  collected  in  one  volume,  8vo,  1761, 
with  a  short  account  of  himself  prefixed. 

The  poet,  "Wordsworth,  has  written  so  sweet  a  tribute 
"  To  the  Poet,  John  Dyer,"  that  I  cannot  resist  quoting 
it: 

"  Bard  of  the  Fleece,  whose  skilful  genius  made 
That  work  a  living  landscape,  fair  and  bright; 
Nor  hallow'd  less  with  musical  delight. 
Than  those  soft  scenes  through  which  thy  childhood  stray'd, 
Those  southern  tracts  of  Cambria,  deep  embay'd, 
By  green  hills  fenced,  by  ocean's  murmur  lull'd. 
Though  hasty  Fame  hath  many  a  chaplet  cull'd 
For  worthless  brows,  while,  in  the  pensive  shade 
Of  cold  neglect,  she  leaves  thy  head  ungraced. 
Yet  pure  and  powerful  minds,  hearts  meek  and  still — 
A  grateful  few — shall  love  thy  modest  lay 
Long  as  the  shepherd's  bleating  flock  shall  stray 
O'er  naked  Snowdon's  wide,  aerial  waste ; 
Long  as  the  thrush  shall  pipe  on  Grongar  Hill." 

A  modern  critic  compares  the  poet,  John  G.  "Whit- 
tier,  to  John  Dyer,  and  says :  "  Unpretentious,  yet  an 
enthusiastic  lover  of  nature  in  her  several  picturesque 
forms,  nothing  delights  Whittier  so  much  as  to  dwell 


SOME   KECORDS  OF  THE   DYER  FAMILY.  117 

on  liis  favorite  tlicme  ;  and  of  all  the  poets  since  Dyer's 
time  (the  immortal  author  of  '  Grongar  Hill '),  Whittier 
most  reminds  us  of  that  exquisite  delineator  of  natural 
scenery,  who,  while  breaking  out  so  enthusiastically,  in 
the  oft  quoted  lines,  commencing 

"  '  Ever  charming,  ever  new, 

When  will  the  landscape  tire  the  view?' 

makes  us  feel  that  John  G.  Whittier  is  Dyer's  legiti- 
mate successor  in  song." 


Samuel  Dyer,  a  man  of  great  learning,  and  the  friend 
and  associate  of  the  literati  of  the  last  age,  was  born 
about  1725,  and  educated  at  Northampton,  under  Dr. 
Doddridge,  and  for  some  time,  had  the  additional  ben- 
efit of  being  instructed  by  the  learned  Dr.  John  "Ward, 
professor  of  rhetoric,  in  Gresham  College.  lie  after- 
wards studied  under  Professor  Hutcheson  at  Glasgow, 
and,  to  complete  his  education,  his  father,  an  eminent 
jeweller  in  London,  sent  him,  by  the  advice  of  Dr. 
Chandler,  to  Leyden,  where  he  remained  tw^o  years. 
He  became  an  excellent  classical  scholar,  a  great  math- 
ematician and  natural  philosopher  ;  was  well  versed  in 
the  Hebrew,  and  a  master  of  the  Latin,  Italian  and 
French  languages.  Added  to  these  endowments  he 
was  of  a  temper  so  mild,  and  in  his  conversation,  so 
modest  and  unassuming,  that  he  gained  the  attention 
and  affection  of  all  around  him.  In  all  questions  of 
science.  Dr.  Johnson  looked  up  to  him ;  and,  in  his  life 


118  SOME   RECORDS   OF   THE    DYER   FAMILY. 

of  Dr.  "Watts,  (where  he  calls  him  the  "  late  learned 
Mr.  Dyer",)  has  cited  an  observation  of  his,  that  Watts 
had  confounded  the  idea  of  space,  with  that  of  envpty 
space,  and  did  not  consider  that,  though  space  might 
be  without  matter,  yet  matter,  being  extended,  could 
not  be  without  space.     Mr.  Dyer  appears  to  have  been 
intended,  by  his  early  friends,  for  the  ministry  among 
the  Dissenters,  but  discovered  an  averseness  to  the  pas- 
toral office,  which  Sir  John  Hawkins  insinuates  to  have 
proceeded  from  an  unfavorable  change  in  his  religious 
sentiments.     Various  literary  schemes  appear  to  have 
been  suggested  to  him,  none  of  which  he  undertook, 
except  in  1758,  the  revisal  of  the  English  edition  of 
Plutarch's  Lives.     In  this  he  translated  anew  only  the 
lives  of  Demetrius  and  Pericles.     In  1759  he  became 
a  commissary  in  the  army  of  Germany,  and  continued 
in  that  station  to  the  end  of  the  seven  years'  war,  after 
which  he  returned  to  England,  and,  on  the  formation 
of  the  Literary  Club  (composed  of  Dr.  Johnson  and  his 
friends)  in  1764,  he  was  the  first  member  elected  into 
that  society,  with  whom  he  continued  to  associate  and 
by  whom  he  was  highly  esteemed  to  the  time  of  his 
death,  in  September,  1772.     From  an  excellent  portrait 
of  this  gentleman,  by  Sir  Joshua  Keynolds,  a  mezzo- 
tin  to  print  was  scraped  by  his  pupil  Marchi,  of  which  a 
copy  was  imposed  upon  the  public  as  the  portrait  of 
John  Dyer,  the  poet.     Sir  John  Hawkins,  in  his  Life 
of  Johnson,  has  given  a  very  unfavorable  sketch  of  Mr. 
Dyer's  character,  representing  him  as  an  infidel  and  a 
sensualist.     These  charges,  Mr.  Malone,  in  a  long  note 


SOME   RECORDS   OF   THE    DYER    FAMILY.  119 

in  his  Life  of  Drj'deii,  has  minutely  examined  with  a 
view  to  refute  them,  but  in  our  opinion  is  more  to  be 
praised  for  tlie  intention,  than  the  execution  of  this 
desirable  purpose.  Sir  John  Hawkins  seems  to  have 
drawn  his  facts  from  personal  knowledge  of  Mr.  Dyer. 
Mr.  Malone  does  not  pretend  to  this,  and  while  lie  ex- 
presses a  just  indignation  at  Sir  John's  charging  Mr. 
Dver  with  infidelity,  (supposing  the  charge  to  he  false), 
he  tells  us  that  he  himself  had  no  means  of  knowing 
what  Mr.  Dver's  relisfious  sentiments  were.  There  is 
nothing  conclusive,  therefore,  to  be  expected  from  one 
who  is  led,  from  whatever  motive,  to  deny  assertions 
without  being  able  to  prove  that  they  are  untrue.  Mr. 
Malone  is  the  first,  if  we  mistake  not,  who  himself  as- 
serted what  he  has  not  in  the  least  attempted  to  prove, 
viz.,  that  Dver  was  the  author  of  Junius's  letters.  This 
indeed  he  qualifies  among  his  errata,  by  saying  that 
Dyer  was  not  the  sole  author,  but  the  principal  author. 
But  even  here  he  offers  no  kind  of  proof,  nor,  since 
the  publication  of  the  late  edition  of  those  celebrated 
letters,  will  it  probably  he  thought  that  he  had  any 
to  offer  more  worthy  of  attention  than  the  conjec- 
tures which  have  ascribed  these  letters  to  a  Bovd  or  a 
Wilmot. 


George  Dyer,  an  English  author,  born  in  a  suburb 
of  London,  March  15,  1755,  died  in  London,  March  2, 
ISAl.  He  was  educated  at  Christ's  Hospital,  where  he 
was  an  associate  of  Charles  Lamb,  and  at  Emmanuel 


120  SOME    EECORDS   OF   THE    DYER   FAMILY. 

College,  Cambridge,  where  he  received  the  degree  of 
bachelor  in  1788.  He  was  successively  a  teacher,  tutor 
and  a  Baptist  minister,  residing  most  of  the  time  either  at 
Cambridge  or  Oxford,  till,  in  1792,  he  removed  to  Lon- 
don, where  he  was  engaged  as  Parliamentary  reporter, 
teacher  and  writer.  In  1830  his  eyesight  failed  him, 
and  he  at  length  became  totally  blind.  He  was  a  poet 
and  frequent  contributor  to  reviews,  but  is  better  known 
as  a  scholar  and  antiquary.  He  wrote  "  Complaints  of 
the  Poor" — a  work  on  prison  discipline,  from  personal 
examinations  of  the  prisons  in  and  about  the  metropo- 
lis. He  edited  two  plays  of  Euripides  and  the  Greek 
Testament ;  Valpy's  Edition  of  the  Classics,  in  141 
volumes ;  the  '*  Poet's  Fate,"  a  poetical  dialogue,  in- 
scribed to  the  Society  for  the  Establishment  of  a  Lit- 
erary Fund  ;  History  of  the  University  of  Cambridge, 
and  notices  of  its  founders  and  eminent  men,  1814. 

In  the  Reminiscences  of  Henry  Crabb  Robinson, 
1799,  we  find  the  following  :  ''  I  became  acquainted 
about  this  time  with  George  Dyer.  He  was  one  of  the 
best  creatures  morally  tliat  ever  breathed.  He  was  the 
son  of  a  watchman  in  Wapping,  and  was  put  to  a  char- 
ity school  by  some  pious  Dissenting  ladies.  He  after- 
wards went  to  Christ's  Hospital,  and  from  there  was 
sent  to  Cambridge.  He  was  a  scholar,  but  to  the  end 
of  his  days  (and  he  lived  to  be  85)  was  a  bookseller's 
drudge.  He  led  a  life  of  literary  labor  in  poverty.  He 
made  indexes,  corrected  the  press,  and  occasionally  gave 
lessons  in  Latin  and  Greek.  When  an  undero-raduate 
at  Cambridge  he  became  a  hearer  of  Robert  Robinson, 


SOME   RECORDS   OF  THE   DYER   FAMILY.  121 

and,  consequently,  a  Unitarian.  This  closed  the  Church 
against  him  and  he  never  liad  a  fellowship.  He  be- 
came intimate  with  the  Xashes,  Fordhams,  and  Rutt, 
and  was  patronized  by  Wakefield  and  Mrs.  Barbauld. 
He  wrote  one  good  book,  the  '  Life  of  Robert  Robin- 
sou,'  which  I  have  heard  Wordsworth  mention  as  one 
of  the  best  w^orks  of  biography,  in  the  language.  Dyer 
also  put  his  name  to  several  volumes  of  poetry  ;  but  on 
his  poems  my  friend  Reid  made  an  epigram,  that  I  fear 
was  thought  just : 

"  '  The  world  all  say,  my  gentle  Dyer, 
Thy  odes  do  very  much  want  fire. 
Repair  the  fault,  mj'  gentle  Dyer, 
And  throw  thy  odes  into  the  tire! ' 

"  Dyer  had  the  kindest  heart,  and  simplest  manners 
imaginable.  It  was  literally  the  case  with  him  that  he 
would  give  away  his  last  guinea.  He  was  not  sensible 
of  any  impropriety  in  wearing  a  dirty  shirt  or  a  ragged 
coat ;  and  numerous  are  the  tales  told  in  illustration  of 
his  neglect  of  little  every-day  matters  of  comfort.  He 
has  asked  a  friend  to  breakfast  with  him,  and  given 
him  coarse  black  tea,  stale  bread,  salt  butter,  sonr  milk, 
and  has  had  to  run  out  to  buy  sugar.  Yet,  every  one 
loved  Dyer.  One  day  Mrs.  Barbauld  said  to  me, '  Have 
you  heard  whom  Lord  Stanhope  has  made  executor?' 
'  No !  Your  brother  ? '  '  No,  there  would  have  been 
nothing  in  that.  The  very  worst  imaginable.'  'Oil! 
then  it  is  Bonaparte.'  'No — guess  again.'  'George 
Dyer  ? '     '  You  are  right.     Lord  Stanhope  was  clearly 


133  SOME    RECOEDS   OF   THE    DYER   FAMILY. 

insane ! '  Dyer  was  one  of  six  executors.  Charles 
James  Fox  was  another.  The  executors  were  also  re- 
siduary legatees.  Dyer  was  one  of  the  first  to  declare 
that  he  rejected  the  legacy,  and  renounced  the  execu- 
torship. But  the  heir  insisted  on  granting  liiin  a  small 
annuity ;  his  friends  having  before  settled  another  on 
him,  he  was  comparatively  wealtliy  in  his  old  age.  Not 
many  years  before  his  death,  he  married  his  laundress, 
by  the  advice  of  his  friends — a  very  worthy  woman. 
He  said  to  me,  once,  '  Mrs.  Dyer  is  a  woman  of  excel- 
lent natural  sense,  but  she  is  not  literary.'  Dyer  was 
blind,  for  a  few  years  before  his  death.  I  used  occa- 
sionally to  go  on  a  Sunday  morning  to  read  to  him.  At 
other  times,  a  poor  man  used  to  render  him  that  service 
for  sixpence  an  hour.  After  he  came  to  London,  Dyer 
lived  always  in  some  very  humble  cliambers  in  Clif- 
ford's Inn,  Fleet  street." 

Thomas  Noon  Talfourd  had  a  great  regard  for 
George  Dyer  and  refers  to  his  "  simplicity  of  nature, 
not  only  unspotted  by  the  world,  but  almost  abstracted 
from  it,"  and  speaks  of  him  as  "  breathing  out,  at  the 
age  of  85,  the  most  blameless  of  lives,  which  began  in 
a  struggle,  to  end  in  a  learned  dream." 


In  Rose's  Biographical  Dictionary,  I  find  an  account 
of  William  Dyer,  a  Non-conformist  ejected  from  his 
living  of  Cholesbury,  in  Buckinghamshire,  in  1662. 
He  turned  Quaker  in  the  latter  part  of  his  life,  and 


SOME    RECORDS   OF   THE    DYER   FAMILY.  123 

died  in  1696,  aged  60,  and  was  l)uried  in  Southwark. 
He  wrote  some  sermons  and  theological  tracts,  much 
in  the  style  of  Bunyan.     They  were  reprinted  in  1671. 


Thomas  Henry  Dyer,  historian,  was  born  May  1, 
1804,  in  the  parish  of  St.  Dunstan  in  the  East,  in  the 
city  of  London,  and  educated  privately.  He  was  en- 
gaged, during  the  earlier  part  of  his  life  in  a  "West 
India  house,  and  after  the  ruin  of  Jamaica,  in  conse- 
quence of  negro  emancipation,  adopted  the  profession 
of  literature.  Mr.  Dyer  travelled  extensively  on  this 
Continent,  and  particularly  studied  the  topography  and 
antiquities  of  Rome,  Athens,  and  Pompeii.  He  was 
presented  in  1865  with  the  honorary  degree  of  Doctor 
of  Laws,  by  the  University  of  St.  Andrews,  He  pub- 
lished in  1850  a  Life  of  Calvin,  which  was  pirated  in 
America;  in  1861,  a  "History  of  Modern  Europe,"  4 
vols.;  in  1865,  a  "History  of  the  City  of  Rome;"  in 
1867  an  enlarged  edition  of  "Pompeii;"  in  1868,  a 
"  History  of  the  Kings  of  Rome,"  and  in  1873,  "An- 
cient Athens  ; "  besides  many  articles  in  the  Classical 
Museum,  in  Dr.  Smith's  Dictionaries  of  Biography, 
and  Geography,  etc. 


"  From  Mr.  Frederick  Nathaniel  Dyer,  of  Mac- 
clesfield, England,  I  have  received  an  interesting  ac- 
count of  the  family.     Mr.  Dyer  is  a  lineal  descend- 


124  SOME    EECORt)S    OF   THE    DYER   FAMILY. 

ant  of  William  and  Mary  Dyre,  and  has  always  resided 
in  England.  His  father  was  born  in  Rhode  Island. 
Mr.  r.  N.  Dyer  is  a  great-great-nephew  of  Sir  "William 
Jones,  the  distinguished  oriental  scholar,  and  is  a  man 
of  culture,  and  literary  tastes.  He  has  had  many  op- 
portunities of  investigating  the  family  history,  and  his 
information  is  undoubtedly  accurate.  He  says,  '  The 
Dyres  were  settled  in  Glastonbury,  Somersetshire,  be- 
fore the  Conquest.  After  the  defeat  of  the  Saxons  at 
Senlac,  near  Hastings,  Siward  Dyre  and  his  two  sons, 
Si  ward  Beam  and  Wight,  retired  to  Glastonbury, 
from  whence  they  issued  to  make  war  on  the  Normans 
as  occasion  served,  until,  leaving  their  wives  and  chil- 
dren in  charge  of  the  monks,  they  joined  Hereward 
in  the  famous  Camp  of  Refuge.  Siward  Dyre  (about 
1036)  was  Eai-1  of  Northumbria,  (eai'l  being  then  an 
official  title,  and  meaning  military  governor),  and  he  is 
the  Siward  of  Shakspeare's  "Macbeth."  He  was  descend- 
ed from  Alfred  the  Great,  and  I  can  prove,  by  legal 
proof,  our  descent  from  him  and  am  able  to  bring  such 
evidence  to  bear  on  the  matter  as  will  carry  conviction 
to  any  sane  mind.'  Mr,  Dyer  also  adds  that  there  is 
no  doubt  of  the  descent  of  William  and  Mary  Dyre, 
from  Sir  Richard  Dyre,  of  Wincanton,  Somerset- 
shire, and  gives  the  following  account  of  the  direct  an- 
cestors of  the  family  :  '  Sir  Edward  Dyre  was  proba- 
bly a  younger  son,  of  no  fortune.  He  was  a  poet  and 
soldier.  Queen  Elizabeth  appointed  him  Chancellor 
of  the  Garter.  On  her  death,  he  retired  from  court, 
and  disappeared  from  history,  as  no  record  of  his  death 


SOilE   RECORDS    OF   THE    DYER   FAMILY.  125 

is  known.  His  disappearance  probably  arose  from 
some  act  repulsive  to  James  the  First.  As  Chancellor 
of  the  Garter,  his  loss  would  have  been  traced  and 
noted.  The  probability  is,  that  Huntingdonshire  and 
Lincolnshire,  being  the  stronghold  of  Puritanism,  his 
espousal  of  these  principles  ignored  him  at  court  and 
by  contemporaries.  He  may  have  been  a  j^roselyte 
and  follower  of  Cromwell,  and  if  so,  probably  went  to 
Leyden,  while  his  sons  and  daughters  went  to  ISTew 
England.'  '  The  last  of  the  baronets  of  Great  Staugh- 
ton  (descended  from  Sir  Richard  Dyre)  died  in  1776, 
and  by  a  curious  coincidence  the  representation  of  the 
baronetcy  passed  into  the  American  branch  of  our 
race,  in  the  year  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 
The  baronetcy  has  not  been  claimed,  and  it  remains  to 
be  seen  whether  it  ever  will  be.' " 


From  a  "  History  of  the  Anglo-Saxons,"  by  Sharon 
Turner,  F.A.S.,  I  find  the  following  account  of 
Siward  Dyre,  or  Digre^  as  it  was  spelled  in  Anglo- 
Saxon  times.  "  In  1054  while  Macduff,  the  Tliane 
of  Fife,  was  exciting  a  formidable  revolt  in  Scot- 
land, Siward,  by  some  called  the  Giant,  from  his 
large  size,  and  whose  sister  had  been  Duncan's  queen, 
conducted  his  Northumbrians  against  Macbeth.  A 
furious  conflict  followed,  in  which  thousands  of 
both  armies  perished ;  but  Siward,  though  he  lost 
his  son  and  nephew,  defeated  the  usurper.  He  re- 
turned  with    great   plunder,  having   made   Malcolm 


126  SOME    RECORDS   OF   THE    DTER   FAMILY. 

king.  The  glory  of  a  warrior  was  the  felicity  most 
precious  to  Siward.  On  his  return  to  York,  he  felt 
that  an  internal  disease  was  consuming  his  vitality,  and 
he  sighed  for  the  funereal  trophies  of  a  field  of  battle. 
'  I  feel  disgraced  that  I  should  have  survived  so  many 
combats,  to  perish  now  like  a  cow.  Clothe  me  in  my 
mail,  fasten  on  my  sword  and  give  me  my  shield,  and 
my  battle-axe,  that  I  may  expire  like  a  soldier ! ' " 

On  Siward's  death  in  1055,  Tostig,  the  brother  of 
Harold,  was  appointed  Earl  of  Northumbria. 

In  "  Camden's  Remaines"  it  is  stated  that  "  when 
Siward,  the  martial  Earl  of  Northumberland,  under- 
stood that  his  son,  whom  he  had  sent  against  the 
Scotchmen,  was  slain,  he  demanded  whether  his  wounds 
were  in  the  fore  part,  or  hinder  part,  of  his  body. 
When  it  was  answered,  '  In  the  fore  part,'  he  replied, 
'  I  am  right  glad ;  neither  wish  I  any  other  death  to 
me  or  mine.' " 

Shakspeare  has  thus  described  this  scene  in  Mac- 
beth, act  5th,  scene  7th,  when  the  nobleman,  Rosse, 
announced  the  death  of  young  Siward  to  his  father : 

' '  Rosse.     Your  son,  my  lord,  has  paid  a  soldier's  debt. 
He  only  lived  but  till  be  was  a  man; 
The  which  no  sooner  had  his  prowess  confirmed 
In  the  unshrinking  station  where  he  fought, 
But  like  a  man  he  died. 

Siward.  Then  he  is  dead? 

Rosse.      Aye,  and  brouglit  off  the  field;  your  cause  of  sorrow 
Must  not  be  measured  by  his  worth,  for  then 
It  hath  no  end. 

Siward.  Had  he  his  hurts  before? 


SOME   RECORDS   OF   THE    DYER    FAMILY.  127 

Eosse.     Aye,  on  the  front. 

Siward.  Why,  then,  God's  soldier  be  he! 

Had  I  as  many  sons  as  I  have  hairs, 
I  would  not  wish  them  to  a  fairer  death. 
And  so  his  knell  is  knoUed. 

Malcolm.  He's  worth  more  sorrow, 

And  that  I'll  spend  for  him. 

Siward.  He's  worth  no  more; 

They  say,  he  parted  well,  and  paid  his  score; 
And  so,  God  be  with  him!" 


The  first  record  of  the  family  name  which  we  find 
in  Great  Britain,  is  that  of  Dier  or  Diheuvyr,  a  saint 
who  flourished  in  the  sixth  century,  and  founded  the 
church  of  Bodffari,  in  Flintshire,  North  Wales.  In  the 
legend  of  St.  "Winifred,  he  is  called  Deiferus.  In  1503 
Jeffrey  Dier  was  mayor  of  Carmarthen  ;  and  in  1514, 
Gwalter  Dier  filled  the  same  ofiice.  This  proves  that 
the  name  was  known  in  Wales  before  John  Dyer,  the 
poet,  had  so  identified  it  with  the  Yale  of  Towy, 
through  his  much  admired  poem  on  Grongar  Hill. 

Henry  II.  established  colonies  of  Flemish  dyers 
in  South  Wales  (Little  England  beyond  Wales) 
as  well  as  near  Winchester  and  London,  to  introduce 
their  trade  into  England.  Many  families  descending 
from  these  men  took  their  names  from  their  trade, 
whence  the  multitude  of  Dyers  who  have  no  connec- 
tion with  the  Dyres  of  Somersetshire. 


In  a  manuscript  book  written  by  the  mother  of  the 


128  SOME    RECORDS   OF  THE    DYER   FAMILY. 

late  Judge  Bradford,  of  Wilmington,  Delaware,  is  the 
following  interesting  account  of  some  relics  of  Mary 
Dyre.  Mrs.  Bradford,  was  a  descendant  of  William, 
the  second  son  of  William  and  Mary  Dyre,  who  went 
to  Delaware  about  the  time  of  his  mother's  death, 
and  remained  there.  Mrs.  Bradford  says :  "  Several 
reliques  of  Mary  Dyre  have  been,  from  generation  to 
generation,  preserved  by  my  family  with  pious  care. 
Among  them  a  dress,  worked  in  manj^  colored  silks, 
with  gold  and  silver  thread,  by  her  own  hands,  and 
worn  by  her  at  the  court  of  England.  It  has  been 
cut  up  into  very  small  pieces,  and  distributed  to  differ- 
ent friends  of  the  society,  to  which  she  belonged.  A 
few  remnants  only  of  this  valued  garment,  remain  in 
my  possession.  The  groundwork  of  this  dress,  was  rich 
white  satin — butterflies,  flowers,  grasshoppers,  with 
other  insects,  were  the  chosen  figures.  The  work  must 
have  been  one  of  time,  requiring  much  patience  and 
perseverance.  A  piece  of  this  work  is  now  in  the 
Philadelphia  Museum.  A  still  more  valuable  relique 
of  this  venerated  ancestor  is  her  bodkin,  of  pure  gold, 
bearing  her  initials  upon  it — M.  D.  In  consequence 
of  filing,  its  size  has  diminished.  These  precious  par- 
ticles were,  from  time  to  time,  presented  to  friends, 
who  had  them  mingled  with  othei'  gold  for  sleeve- 
buttons." 

I  have  consulted  many  books  of  heraldry,  and  the 
first  grant  of  arms  to  any  person  bearing  the  name  of 
Dyer,  which  I  have  been  able  to  find,  was  in  1575, 


SOME    RECORDS   OF   THE    DYER    FAMILY.  129 

nndoiibtedly,  granted  to  Sir  James  Dyer.  On  the 
shield  are  three  goats.  The  crest  is  a  goat's  head  hold- 
ing a  rose  in  the  month.  Since  Sir  James  Dyer's  day, 
the  rose  has,  in  many  instances,  been  discarded  from 
the  crest,  and  a  goat's  head  rising  out  of  a  ducal  coro- 
net, is  used  by  various  members  of  the  family.  There 
are  many  families  in  England,  at  the  present  day, 
named  Dyer,  to  whom  arms  have  been  granted.  In 
most  cases,  the  goat  is  an  emblem,  showing  that  there 
is  more  or  less  consanguinity  between  the  families. 


William  Andrew  Dyer,  of  London,  a  great-great-great- 
ffreat-ofrandson  of  Oliver  Cromwell,  has  for  his  crest 
a  demi-lion  rampant,  and  the  motto  "  Chi  sera,  sera." 


Sir  Thomas  Swinnerton  Dyer  has  the  goat's  head  in 
a  ducal  coronet  and,  over  the  crest,  the  motto  in  Welsh, 
"  O'r  Hen  Fonedd,"  meaning  "  Of  an  ancient,  honor- 
able race." 


After  a  very  careful  examination  at  the  Heralds' 
Collesre  in  London,  it  has  been  ascertained  and  eci'- 
tifed  there,  that  the  coat  of  arms  of  William  Dyre 
is  the  one  depicted  on  the  last  page.  The  Saracen's 
head  of  the  crest  undoubtedly  denotes  that  some  ances- 
tors, in  olden  times,  have  taken  part  in  the  Crusades, 
while  the  three  goats  of  the  shield,  show  that  there  is 


130 


SOME   EEC0ED3   OF   THE   DYER   FAMILY. 


a  link  between  William  Dyer,  and  tlie  family  of  Sir 
James  Dyer,  the  distinguished  jurist,  son  of  Richard 
Dyer,  lord  of  the  manor  of  Wincanton,  Somersetshire, 
England. 


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